TTH: Ascension
by The Dark Hood
Summary: Continuation of The Turn of a Hero. It was over. His goal was completed. There was nothing left but to move on. Or so he thought. The next hand was now being played. And Naruto finds himself caught right in the middle of it. Modern setting.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

**Prologue:  
A Stranger with a Violet Rose  
**

It was currently around one in the afternoon in the center region of the country known as Saudi Arabia. It was also during this time that the sun made its presence most known to the people that lived here.

To counter the suppressing heat, the natives wore loose fitting clothing or robes that provided them with both protection and a small touch of freshness to their bodies. Some also wore a headgear known as agal for protection of their head. Some women wore face masks to cover their entire face save for their eyes for...traditional reasons.

This was shown by a large crowd of Arabian people that pushed their way through the very much crowded market in the center of the city. There were shops everywhere, selling a variety of things from food to clothing and much more.

All of this was observed by a pair of extremely light brown eyes with a small tint of gold to them from within a medium sized 2013 black Jeep Wrangler.

The eyes belonged to a young female that appeared to be in her late teens, perhaps eighteen to be precise. She had long purple hair that reached down almost to her bottom and was currently tied in a ponytail because of the climate in the area. Unlike the natives, she wore brown short shorts that stopped a few inches above her knees. She also wore a tight black t-shirt that hugged her upper body tightly as well as outlining her big c-cup breasts with a necklace hanging loosely down her chest, and brown boots. She was sitting on one of the backseats of the jeep, a hand of her chin as she looked out through the dark tinted window. She could see outside, but no one could see inside from the outside.

What she currently wore wasn't exactly what she preferred to wear, but under the circumstances, she had no choice. Basically being stuck in a place that saw no rain for weeks, perhaps even months due to its location where it was in the planet.

Next to her on the other seat was a man that appeared to be in his mid thirties. Despite the climate, he had a brown leather jacket with a simple black sleeveless shirt underneath, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. He had brown hair and appeared to be in good physical shape despite most men his age.

Unlike the girl next to him, he wasn't looking out the window. Instead, he was staring right ahead with his brown colored eyes and with his arms crossed.

The girl glanced at him as the driver in the front seat of the jeep tried to drive the jeep through the crowded market. The driver was wearing a black colored suit despite the extreme hot climate.

"Really. I don't know how you can stand this heat wearing that. It must be fun being you. Or is it because we're in the car with the AC on?"

The man next to her made no sign that he had heard her. But she was used to that by now.

"I'm not affected by any type of climate. You should know this by now, Violet."

The now named Violet sighed at his calm tone as she turned her eyes back to the window, looking at whatever or whomever caught her sight.

"Yeah, I guess it was silly of me to ask that…."

The man glanced at her momentarily before turning back to look straight ahead.

"Is there something troubling you?" he finally asked.

Violet grinned. "Oh? So now you care? But no, nothing's troubling me. I guess that I just wanted to make small talk. To pass the time. Saudi Arabia isn't exactly my favorite country. Really. Who can stand this heat?"

The man sighed. "You shouldn't really disrespect the places where other people live. This area has given many advancements to the human race, despite it possessing almost unlivable conditions."

Violet raised an eyebrow at hearing this, turning away from the window in order to look at him. "I didn't think that something like that would matter to _you_. I mean, you aren't-"

"Do you really know so little about me?"

Violet let out another sigh. "Well, you aren't exactly very forthcoming in giving away your personality or what you actually care about, you know. This is the first time that you have spoken the longest at one single time except for when I first met you."

"I see…."

Violet waved one of her hands in a bored manner, the other still resting underneath her chin as she leaned slightly against the door of the jeep.

"So? Since you're being so talkative right now, you mind telling me what I exactly you expect to gain from letting that Anko woman know that you're here right now? I mean, there's no doubt that she's going to tell him."

The man glanced at her for a second time. "Do you really have to ask? I'm sure that you've already seen what's going to happen. I created you that way, after all."

Violet let out a huff. "You make it sound weird, you know. Like I was some sort of robot or something like that. I'm still human." She then smirked. "I just find it interesting is all. But you should know that there are a lot of pathways out there, even for me. To see them all is...tough at times. Hell, I'm not even sure that I've seen them all yet."

Violet then looked down towards the small space between her and the man where a small brown envelope laid. Picking it up, she quickly opened it in order to look at its contents which were four different photographs with each containing a file full of information about the person that the photograph showed. But she was only interested in one of them, really.

Looking at the fist photograph with unmasked excitement present in her eyes, Violet had a small grin on her face.

"Uzumaki Naruto, eh….?"

"That's right. He's done quite well with his life now. Him and the other three."

Violet looked at him with a confused look. "And here I thought that you were most displeased with him. Isn't that why I'm here?"

"I said that he's done quite well. I never said if I was happy with that or not."

Violet chuckled slightly before turning back to the files, this time looking at the photograph of the other three. Of course, she already knew who they had been in the past, including Naruto. What they had done in order to bring down what had once been the shinobi world. And because of that, humanity had lost its ability to use chakra and everything else that came along with it. They had turned back to science just like they had been in the past before the shinobi world came along.

But now, they were all living out normal lives. Even Naruto who had a godly power at his disposal. He wasn't doing anything with it. He wasn't trying to change the world like he had done so in his past life which was just exactly what the man sitting next to her had wanted. Not only that, but he was immortal now. He had all the time to change the world without dying midway, but he wasn't. He was just being normal. And Violet wanted to know the reason behind that. She was curious.

"I am most disappointed in him. After all this time, I was hoping that he would finally complete what he had set out to do. But I have run out of patience. It seems that I have to take matters into my own hands now."

Violet covered her mouth in order to hold in her laughter. "You know, I really can't take you seriously when you're dressed just like an average person. I mean, last time you came here you were dressed all holy and whatnot, even as an old man."

"That was just to fool him. I wanted for him to think that I was something that I'm not."

Violet chuckled. "Yeah, and you managed that all right. Not that I can blame him. I would have probably fallen for that too if you hadn't told me who you were or if I hadn't seen it with my own power…."

The man didn't respond.

Violet looked at the files in her hands one last time before she placed them back in the envelope which she put back where it had been.

"It won't take long for him to get here, then…."

"Which is why we need to finish our business here before that happens. I want to confront him in my own terms."

Violet turned back to looking out the window. "Is that so? Well, only time will tell how things will go, right?"

The man glanced at her once more before deciding that it wasn't worth asking her what had made him curious, if slightly. Like she had said, time would tell.

Violet for her part looked at the people that were busy trying to get whatever it was that they wanted from the many shops in the market, going about their business. They were so oblivious to everything. A great change was going to happen soon, and they wouldn't know of it until it was too late. That was just how they were. Ignorant until things were completely spelled out for them. That made her glad that she wasn't one of them. Glad for the power that she now possessed. Glad that the man next to her had chosen her in order to lead the human race back on the right track.

But before that could happen, there was one person that stood in their way. And that was Uzumaki Naruto. He needed to be taken out of the picture. Well, according to what the man next to her said anyways. But she thought otherwise.

It wasn't like she wasn't anticipating meeting Naruto either. She was looking forward to that day with great excitement. Who knew? Maybe she could even change him, making him stand next to her as she fulfilled her role. She was sure that she could convince the man next to her in letting Naruto go.

Violet closed her eyes at that thought. Now that would be of much pleasure to her. And she was sure that she could do it.

'Uzumaki Naruto….you will be mine.'

The jeep finally made its way out of the market, heading straight towards the biggest structure in the city of Riyadh: the king's royal palace.

* * *

**So...I know that I said that I was going to wait after my trip to post this, but I couldn't help myself. So here is the start of the second season. I know that some of you wanted for me to post the other story, but I really just want to wrap this one up before moving on. And the thing is that this one won't be as long as the first season. Less than half of the chapters of the first season, that I'm sure of.  
**

**Well, I leave you with this. I'm not sure how much of the story I'll be able to get through before I leave which is why I didn't want to post this, but my excitement won this time. But please bear with it. I won't abandon it. That I promise.  
**

**Also, please tell me what you thought. If it's looking to be exciting or not. It would be extremely helpful.  
**

**So...see you next time, I guess.  
**


	2. Opening Act

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
**_"Hmm…"_**- Memory/Flashback**

* * *

**Chapter 1:  
Opening Act**

_Rain._

_It continued to pour endlessly for hours now. The sky was pitch black because of the rain clouds present, making the atmosphere extremely gloomy at the moment. Not that it wasn't appropriate. After everything that had taken place a few hours prior, after all the sacrifices, the current atmosphere suited the situation._

_Or that was what Naruto thought at least as he leaned against the doorway of the house that he along with the others that had made it were currently staying in. The house wasn't anything fancy. It was made out of wood with it only having one floor and three rooms, each only having one simple bed. But it was enough. The house was located in the land of where the dragons lived. Said summonings had built it themselves under short notice, so it was no surprise that it was simple._

_The reason for their current stay in the land of the dragons and not the Elemental Nation was for one simple reason: the shinobi world was now hell on earth. Things were out of control. Which came as of no surprise. After the collapse of Konoha as well as Kumo, two great nations were left powerless. But with both Iwa and Suna without a Kage, they weren't in any position do a thing. Not to mention that the daimyos from each land didn't want to start a war in any circumstances. But that didn't apply to the other smaller nations._

_Naruto knew that it wouldn't take long for them to try something. And he would be there to stop it. Of course, he was pretty sure that he could handle anything that came his way as of right now. But fact of the matter was that he was exhausted. He had been so focus on accomplishing his goal that he almost never truly slept except for a few rare occasions. Not to mention the others that were with him. They were no doubt hoping to get some rest if only for a day at least. And Naruto couldn't blame them._

_Wearing nothing but black anbu pants, Naruto shivered slightly as he felt the cold air from the current storm hit his bare chest. But he didn't want to go back to bed. Not yet. With all of the commotion, he hadn't had had the time to properly say goodbye to the others. They were all happy now. And he wasn't about to take that away from them._

_Well, except for the jinchuriki that was….._

_'I wonder…..will your sacrifice be in vain?'_

_Now that would be a sad thought. The jinchuriki had all given away their chance for having a peaceful afterlife in order for Naruto to finally get rid of the Juubi once and for all. So that the beast would never once again become free. But there was another monster still present: humans themselves._

_But in all honesty, Naruto had no motivation to lead them again like he had done so in the past. He was losing faith in them, much like Obito had done._

_Naruto chuckled humorlessly as he closed his eyes. 'Well Madara, it looks as if all of your planning might have been for nothing….'_

_And that lead to the final question: what was he suppose to do now? His goal was complete. And much like how he had said so before, he had never put much thought in what he would do afterwards. But now the time for deciding was here._

_"So this is where you were."_

_Naruto turned his head back to see Kushina standing a few feet behind him. She was currently wearing a simple long white shirt that reached her well below her knees. But Naruto already knew that she was wearing panties underneath. As for a bra…let's move on._

_Naruto sent her a fake smile. "Having trouble sleeping?"_

_Kushina sighed as she walked towards him, already knowing the smile to be fake. Once she was close enough, she grabbed a hold of his arm, leaning against his chest._

_"That should be my line, idiot. You're the one that's been up for who knows how long."_

_Naruto closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, you're right." There was no point in lying. "I'm just starting to have doubts is all…."_

_"About?"_

_Naruto hesitated for a moment before he answered, "About the others. For what they gave their lives for. Was it really worth it?"_

_Kushina was silent for a few moments. Of course she knew that he was talking more about the jinchuriki than the others because, well….the others had died because they had wanted it that way. Even if they didn't realize that that was how they truly felt until the end. But the jinchuriki….they were different. They hadn't wanted to die. No matter what they had said. They only did what they did because they thought that something better would be born as a result. But seeing how things currently were, it was looking as if the opposite was going to happen._

_"You know, great things take time to happen. You can't expect for everything to go to being perfect in a few hours."_

_Naruto sighed at hearing that. Of course, he knew that. It was obvious. Specially with the delicacy of the situation. Hell, Naruto wasn't even sure why he was even troubled by this. Peace….it was something that he had never bothered to put much thought into. So why was he even worrying about it now?_

_And then it came to him: Fu. Because of what she did, because of the way that she had died, because of what she had hoped would happen was why Naruto was troubled. He didn't want for her sacrifice to be meaningless._

_But Kushina herself already knew that that was the root of Naruto's problem. She could attest that her son perhaps had even loved the mint haired girl. And she felt great sorrow to know of how things had ended between them. And perhaps for nothing in the end._

_"If you really want for their sacrifice to mean something, then use that power that you obtained because of them. Put it to good use. Change the world. Just like you did in the past."_

_But that was the thing. Naruto didn't want to do that. He had had enough with everything. He had no motivation in trying to do what Kushina was suggesting. And the thing was that Naruto himself wasn't entirely sure yet why it was that he felt this way. He was confused and lost. It was the first time in three years that he had felt this way._

_Kushina could sense all of this. All of the troubles that Naruto currently burdened. And she realized that because of this, Naruto was in no mental shape for trying to do something as big as that of which she was suggesting._

_Pulling away from his hug, Kushina took his hand with hers, leading him away from the doorway and to the room that she shared with him, something that Anko had pouted about a few hours earlier._

_"We shouldn't really think about something like this. Not now. We should just rest. We'll have plenty of time later."_

_Naruto didn't respond, letting the redhead in front of him guide him towards their room._

_But sleep never came that night for Naruto. And for many more nights in the future._

* * *

Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself in his king sized bed in his house that he owned by the beach. He had chosen to live here quite a while ago, enjoying the fact that he wasn't too close to the city. He liked the quietness that this scenery brought him at night.

Feeling weight on his chest, Naruto looked down to see Kushina sleeping on his upper chest, her head resting on it as well as one of her hands and with their legs intertwined. And she was completely naked just like he was. But the white covers hid her lower body perfectly. Not that it would have mattered if they weren't. No one would see her even if she was completely exposed. Not here.

Naruto sighed silently as he rested back on his pillow, thinking of the dream that he had just experienced. Well, it wasn't really a dream because it had happened. More like a memory really. But why was he thinking of this now? Because the old man had appeared again?

'Really….just what are you?'

Naruto wanted to find that out as soon as possible. It was troubling him more than he had expected. But he would have his chance. Tomorrow, once both Anko and Fuka had arrived, they would set out to Saudi Arabia to find the man and stop whatever it was that he was doing there.

Of course, Anko had left a shadow clone back in the headquarters of the CIA who she could contact at anytime for anything that they would need. Not to mention the fact that many agents were already undercover inside the country for….other reasons. But Anko would make the best use of them in order to help them with this. Anko running an agency such as the CIA did come with great advantages at times, especially ones like this.

But he really shouldn't be dwelling on this. He needed his rest. Naruto had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be extremely hectic.

Closing his eyes, Naruto tried to go back into the soothing darkness that was sleep where his conscious couldn't trouble him. At most times at least.

But much like in the past, sleep never came.

* * *

"You know, I really like this whole secrecy thing that you got going on here."

The man, who had taken jacket off at the moment and sat on one of the chairs in their five star hotel room, turned his gaze away from one of the windows to his right to look at Violet who was sitting on one of the two beds that were present.

Instead of the outfit that she was wearing earlier in the day, she now wore a simple purple loose t-shirt with a skull on it and purple pajama pants.

Violet sent him a small grin. "I mean, why bother with all of the secrecy? That's what I had thought at first. Especially with your power. But now I'm starting to enjoy it. And I think that you do too."

"How so?"

Violet shrugged. "I really don't know. It's just a hunch, I guess. I mean, why else would you be doing things this way?"

The man was silent for a few moments before he responded, "Maybe because doing things this way are much more better than doing them in the open. History is full of lies. You should know this. It's always those that take to the shadows that really write history. Their own version of it. And you want to know how they do it? Because they always come out as the victors in the end."

"History is written by the victors, eh…." muttered Violet.

The man nodded. "That's right. Now get some rest. We have an important job to do tomorrow."

"Why!?" sulked Violet as she looked to her right to where a clock stood in the nightstand between the two beds. "It's only six thirty!"

"Just do it."

The man stood up from his chair, grabbed his jacket that was laying behind his chair, and walked towards the door of the hotel room.

Violet looked at him with a curious look. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

Opening the door, he walked out of the room and closed it behind him.

Violet looked at the closed door for a moment longer before she turned her gaze towards the window where the man had been looking a few moments prior, the bright city lights still shining from whatever buildings had power.

She couldn't wait for tomorrow. After all, tomorrow was the day when everything would commence. When the world would take its first step in changing. Where she would take her first step in fulfilling her role.

And she was sure that Naruto wouldn't miss it either.

* * *

In Naruto's office the next morning, two females currently stood facing each other in front of Naruto's desk.

One was wearing black short shorts, a purple tank top with a black leather jacket over it, and black high heel boots. She had purple-ish hair that was currently tied in a fanned ponytail. This was Mitarashi Anko, the head of the CIA. Well, to most people she was a guy, not a woman. But that was how she had stayed head of the CIA for so long with no one knowing about it. A combination of both genjutsu and the transformation jutsu. And since no one in this time period knew what chakra was, it worked beautifully. Once the term of one of the leaders ended, Anko made sure that one of her other aliases got the job by trapping the committee that selected the new head of the CIA with genjutsu. And everyone was none the wiser. Of course, she herself had just recently enlisted herself into the agency, becoming one of its agents.

The other was an attractive and glamorous looking redhead. She was wearing tight black jeans, a crimson top that resembled that of which she had worn in her days in the shinobi world as a kunoichi, and black high heel boots much like Anko wore. This woman was Uzumaki Fuka, renown model all throughout the world. Of course, she had just started professional modeling a few years back. Before, she had simply been a designer that had also been known all throughout the world before she 'died.' In the past where no cameras and the such existed, Fuka had also taken to being a model in many different countries. And thanks to her face never being recorded, she had managed to fake her death multiple times and start all over again with a different name years after people had forgotten about the person that she had been. After this, though, she wasn't sure what she was going to try next.

The two women had a stare off for a few moments longer before they broke down in laughter.

Holding her gut, Anko looked at the laughing Fuka. "Man, it really is good to see you again. How long has it been, anyways?"

Bringing her laughter under control, Fuka shrugged slightly. "I don't know to be honest. I lost track of time really. But it seems that you haven't aged a day, Anko."

Anko smirked at her. "I could say the same to you, miss supermodel. It really is good to be out of that office though and be myself again. Acting like a man with a stick up his ass is really hard to keep up. The only relief that I have now is that I'm an agent too so I can get away from that desk job much more."

Fuka raised an eyebrow. "It is your choice though. I mean, you can quit at anytime."

Anko waved one of her hands, dismissing the idea. "Nah. I would miss ordering people around too much as well as torturing them."

Fuka sweatdropped. "I see…."

"Well, it seems that you two have gotten reacquainted with each other."

Turning their heads to look at the entrance of the office, both Anko and Fuka saw Naruto and Kushina walking towards them, the former closing the door behind him.

Unlike before, Kushina had chosen to wear a different outfit today. It consisted of black shorts that resembled the one that she wore in the past, a tight red v-neck slim long sleeve t-shirt with the necklace of Hashirama hanging down her neck, and black boots except with no high heels unlike the rest.

Naruto for his part was wearing black combat pants, a skin tight shirt with long sleeves with the said shirt having a knife holster on the right side of his stomach. He also wore black combat boots.

Seeing Naruto's attire, Anko couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Preparing for battle, are you, gaki?"

Naruto simply nodded as he stopped in front of them, Kushina on his left. "Yeah. But I'm sure that you were already expecting this, Anko."

And she was. But she didn't think that he would be this pumped about it. Maybe pumped wasn't the right word….perhaps it was cautious?

Naruto then grinned as he looked at them both, giving them a once over. "It really is good to see you two though. How long has it been?"

Fuka smirked at the question. "We were just asking that ourselves. But we forgot."

Kushina chuckled. "Yeah. Time just becomes irrelevant after a while, doesn't it?"

The others didn't respond. Not that they had to. They all agreed on that one hundred percent.

Fuka then spoke up, "I've already taken the liberty of arranging our transportation to the capital. We'll go in one of my private jets, meaning that we'll get there in about three or four hours at the earliest."

Anko whistled. "So you got private jets too? Damn…...not bad. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go with you since agents present in Saudi Arabia have already been alerted that I'm arriving today. I'll contact you once I get something, though."

The others had already expected this.

Naruto was immediately on the move, heading towards the door. "Then let's go. We have to put an end to this."

Kushina frowned as she and the rest followed behind him. Naruto seemed a little too eager for her tastes. But then again, this was the being that had basically changed his entire life in the past. He no doubt wanted to know why that was for.

But something within her told her that things would become a lot more complicated. And she did not like the sound of that. Not in the slightest.

* * *

Violet took a deep breath in as maids all around her made the final touches to her outfit that the king had requested for her to wear today. It consisted of an elaborate long purple dress with no sleeves and high gold heels. Her hair was currently hanging loose, reaching down towards her bottom. She also had a pure gold bracelet which had been a gift from the king in one of her previous visits.

That being said, this was not her first time dining with the king. But it was the first party. She had been doing so for a couple of weeks now. And the reason for this being that she needed to get close to him so that she could put their plan into action. Well, it was mostly her associate's plan. She was just going along with it.

The plan was simple: they needed to start another war. A bigger one than the ones that had already taken place. One that would leave a scar that could never heal. Mainly, a nuclear war. And this region was the most unstable in the world with it also possessing nuclear weapons. All that was needed was a small push in order to ignite the bang. And Violet was that push.

No doubt that after this, every major power would be on the alert, looking for who to blame for this. And they already had the perfect scapegoat: America. No one would doubt it once they found the body of one of their agents inside the palace.

"All done, miss."

Violet glanced at the apparent head maid of the palace who had spoken with a heavy arabic accent.

Instead of responding, Violet simply nodded. It was showtime.

* * *

Fuka looked at the scenery laid out in front of her from the balcony that she currently stood on, mainly the city of Riyadh at night with the lights shining from whatever building had them. One of those was the hotel that she was currently staying in with the others.

Both Naruto and Kushina were unpacking whatever was necessary for tonight. Mainly the banquet/party that Kushina had just been invited to once they had arrived at the airport. They didn't even take two steps out of the jet before a messenger had literally appeared out of nowhere. Of course, they were all going save for Anko who was currently hitting whatever contacts that she had in the city after she had arrived in a regular flight.

The world was quite aware of who Kushina was, mainly as the wife of the CEO of **Uzumaki Inc.** This was the first time in history since Naruto created the company that Kushina had revealed herself. In the past, she had worked at other jobs all throughout the world: a doctor, a saleswoman, and the sort. All random jobs. Hell, she had even been the owner of a famous club at one point. But after somehow convincing Naruto which Fuka suspected that she had accomplished by having sex with him in his office, she showed herself to the world as Naruto's wife and representative since Naruto never came out in public.

And thus, when the king of this country had learned that she was currently in the city with associates, he had quickly sent out an invitation to her to come to the banquet/party that he was hosting tonight. **Uzumaki Inc. **was known all throughout the world, after all.

And so, this was their plans for tonight. It wasn't as if they had any other leads as to where the mysterious old man was at the moment either. Not until Anko contacted them, that was. It would have been disrespectful for Kushina to have had turned down the invitation as well. And she needed to keep up appearances. That was one aspect of Kushina's personality that had changed over the years as well as one other thing…..

"You should start getting ready as well, Fuka."

Turning her head around, Fuka saw Kushina standing by the doorway of the balcony.

Fuka simply nodded and walked back inside the hotel room which only contained two beds.

It was time to get ready.

* * *

Anko calmly walked into one of the small bars that was present all throughout this street in the suburb area of the city. Of course, the bar sold non-alcoholic beverages just like all others because of the law that was present in the country. So it really couldn't be called a bar. But that was what the natives called it, so she merely went with the flow.

Having discarded her leather jacket for the day and now night, she drew the eyes of the many men present inside the bar despite them being holy men. Well, even with the jacket on, she was sure that she would have had probably had the same effect on them. It wasn't her bragging. It was just the simple fact of the matter.

Walking to one of the tables in the back, Anko sat down on one of the chairs, facing a man that was sitting on the opposite side. He had the traditional arabian robe except that he didn't look like he was arabic. He had bright blond hair and blue eyes with a face that made him look like a male model.

Anko looked at him in silence for a few moments before beginning the conversation, "Nice to see you again, Cole."

The now named Cole smirked. "The same to you, Anko. I must say, I'm quite surprised the chief sent you here to back me up. I thought that I was doing quite well just by myself."

Anko snorted in her mind. Of course he was. That was just simply an excuse that she had used herself in order to come here without any suspicions. She was, after all, an agent to the others.

Anko waved one of her hands slightly in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. I just asked him myself if I could come since things are pretty much hectic right now ever since that new development a could of days ago."

Cole raised an eyebrow. "What? Did you miss me that much?"

This time, Anko did snort out loud. "Not in your dreams."

Cole chuckled slightly before he turned serious. "You do realize how terribly dangerous it is for you to be here, right? Hell, the whole fact that we're even meeting here right now is extremely dangerous. It's taken me years to place myself in a good position with the locals. I would rather not lose that."

Anko shook her head. "Don't worry about that. They already know that you're not Arabic but American. What's the harm in saying that you were meeting with an old pal of yours? After all, it's not a lie."

Cole sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right….."

Anko then leaned in. "Onto more serious matters though. Have you found the location of where the target that you were instructed to find is? That' the whole reason I'm even here right now."

"No," Cole answered immediately. "The dude vanished into thin air! After Drake managed to get a picture of him in the market a couple of days ago, the old man hasn't appeared ever since! It's really creepy…."

Drake was one of the other agents that the CIA had posted in the area that worked independently from Cole save for a few times in the past. Basically put, he was one of Anko's shadow clones that she had placed all throughout the agency. Because part of the Juubi's power had gone into her, Anko's chakra reserves had increased drastically. It wasn't anywhere near Naruto's reserves or even Kushina's, but it was a lot bigger than before. Because of this, she could now keep the shadow clones for as long as she had until they became useless.

Cole then shook his head. "Honestly, though, I don't know what's so special about this old man. I mean, besides vanishing off the face of the earth and the way that he was dressed, he doesn't look like as if he's a terrorist or anything. So why are we even looking for him?"

Anko smirked. "That's for me and the higher ups to know and for you to not find out."

Cole had a mocking hurt look on his face. "That's cold, Anko. C'mon, you can tell me."

Before Anko could respond, she felt another person walking towards them. Since their table was the furthest back in the bar, the person no doubt had a reason for walking here.

Cole looked at the man who was wearing a brown leather jacket and was standing in front of their table. It did get colder in the night, so he could understand why the man was wearing the jacket. But why was he here?

"Can I help you?" Cole asked.

The man was silent before he responded with, "Not one agent but two. I guess that this is my lucky day."

It was at this moment that both Anko and Cole realized that they were in trouble. But it was a moment too late.

Both of their worlds went blank.

* * *

Naruto walked into the courtyard of the royal palace after Kushina had handed her invitation in to the guards at the entrance. Said redhead was currently walking beside him on his left, her arm entwined with his. Fuka was walking a few feet off the side on Naruto's right. Appearances needed to be kept, after all. Kushina was wearing a long crimson colored dress with red colored heels. Her hair was currently in a bun, with Hashirama's necklace still hanging around her neck. Fuka for her part was dressed in sea blue colored dress with high heels in the same color. Her hair was also in a bun like Kushina's.

As far as the people in the party would be concerned, Naruto was simply a good close friend to Kushina. Not that it mattered to him. He himself didn't want to be here right now. He would have had very much rather gone with Anko. But that would have raised many other problems for the purple haired woman. He didn't very much care about appearances either. But apparently Kushina now did.

So here he was now, in a party that would be pretty much a waste of time in his opinion. Time that could be much better used, even if he had plenty to spare.

* * *

Inside the palace where the party was currently taking place, Violet tried to keep an interested and pleasant face as the king standing next to her talked to a group of his guests, speaking in Arabic. They were currently in the center of the enormous room with many servants walking about, serving food and beverages to the many guests.

It looked like none of the other wives that the king had were currently here either. That just made things easier in Violet's opinion. But she kept stealing glances towards the entrance, already knowing that the person that she truly wanted to see was already here in the country and would come to this party tonight. She had seen it, after all.

And she didn't have to wait long either.

Violet's breath hitched as she saw the person that she had waited all along to meet for months now: Uzumaki Naruto. He was currently wearing a black colored suit with a navy shirt underneath the black jacket and black dress shoes.

Violet tried to control her facial features, but a sudden twinkle appeared in her gold tinted eyes. 'So, I finally see you in reality for the first time, Uzumaki Naruto…..'

But of course, she had a job to do first. She would get her chance to talk to him at a later date.

Noticing a familiar figure entering behind Naruto and the other two, Violet knew that it was time to initiate the plan.

Leaning towards the king, Violet whispered into his ear, already knowing what she was going to do.

* * *

Naruto sighed silently as he looked around. This was going to suck. Even after all these years, he was still not a fan of fancy parties. It was one of the reasons why he preferred to remain in the shadows.

Sensing this, Kushina leaned against him in order to whisper into his ear. "I know that you don't like these parties, but just bear with it for tonight. It will do you some good to relax, you know."

Naruto frowned. Relax? That was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

Fuka waved at them as she made towards a small bar on the other side of the room that had no alcoholic beverages either. "If you don't mind me, I'm going to get something to drink while ignoring getting hit on by some of the men in this party."

Kushina waved right back. "Have fun." She then turned to look at Naruto. "And you. Let's go."

Naruto prayed for something to take him out of this misery. And his prayer was answered in an instant as he caught sight of the form of the being that he had last seen thousand of years ago right towards the back of the room in front of one of the many doors.

Kushina immediately felt Naruto tense up. Looking where his eyes were gazing at, her eyes widened as she immediately understood why Naruto tensed up.

The now old man dressed in the very same white cloak looked at them both straight in the face before he walked into the room where he had been standing in front of.

Naruto was immediately on the move, almost running towards where the old man had disappeared into.

Kushina gritted her teeth before she followed behind Naruto. There was no time to get Fuka. Not to mention the fact that Naruto seemed like he wasn't thinking straight at the moment.

Naruto walked into the room, finding the old man dressed in the white cloak standing by the window. The room itself looked like some sort of library as well. But Naruto wasn't worried about that in the slightest. No, all that he cared about was currently standing right in front of him.

"So we meet again."

Naruto frowned as he heard the voice. It sounded different from last time. Then it again, maybe his memory was wrong. It had been several thousand of years since then.

Kushina then appeared behind Naruto, looking at the old man warily.

Naruto immediately asked the question that had been bugging him the most. "Who are you?"

The man turned away from the window that stood on the right of the room's entrance.

"I suppose that that would be your first question since it seems that you no longer believe me to be the being that you had thought that I was."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, his rinnegan activating instantly. It had been years since he had last used it. His control over it would no doubt be rusty, but he didn't care.

The man grinned slightly at seeing this. "Ah, if it isn't my very own creation. I must say that you have made excellent use of it." The grin then disappeared, only for it to be replace by a frown. "But it seems that you have now lost your way, Uzumaki Naruto. You no longer possess that will that drove you forward in the past. The same will that you used in order to change the human race. The same will that you used to destroy your very own creation. You are now nothing more than a shell of your former self. Even more so than the Juubi ever was."

Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. "You know nothing about me…."

The man shook his head. "And that is where you are wrong. I know everything about you. You possess a power that could change the human race! But instead of using it, you merely waste it by doing absolutely nothing. Don't you see how the current world is? That it needs to be changed? It seems that the sacrifices that your comrades made were for nothing in the end."

Naruto was about to snap before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking to his left, he saw a calm Kushina looking at the man.

"Just what are you after?" she asked.

The man sighed as he looked towards the direction of the window. "You'll know soon enough. But I'm not here to fight you. Not now, at least. That honor belongs to someone else. My new creation that surpasses the failure that you are, Naruto."

Before either Naruto or Kushina could respond, the man vanished. But not in a flash or anything fancy like that. He simply disappeared.

Naruto's hands turned into fists. So, in the end, he truly was just a tool for someone else. Well, he should have suspected that much.

Kushina looked at him with a sigh. She could see that he was frustrated. Not that she could blame him either.

But before she could say anything, a piercing scream was heard all throughout the palace.

* * *

**A few moments earlier:**

Violet looked at her handiwork with a blank look. There, in the huge bed inside of the king's room, the king himself laid motionlessly with a knife stuck straight through his heart which she herself had driven in.

Two men dressed as guards quickly walked into the room, both carrying a body on their shoulders which they quickly threw at the floor in front of them. And the bodies belonged to both Anko and Cole, both now dead by a stab to their heart, much like with the king.

Violet looked at the guards that were part of the same organization that she was in that the man had created. "You two know what to do, right?"

Both men merely nodded.

Violet let out a violent scream.

* * *

Fuka was the first to arrive, quickly cutting her way through the crowd that had gathered outside of the king's room. Looking at the sight in front of her, her eyes immediately widened as she saw Anko's still body lying on the floor next to a man's who she did not recognize. Guards from the palace were all inside the room, trying to get the shocked crowd into control. A purple haired girl was currently crying as she explained what had happened to a man that appeared to be the head guard.

Both Naruto and Kushina appeared behind her, trying to see just what exactly had happened.

Naruto's blood ran cold when he saw Anko's body.

'It can't be….'

Kushina could only gasp.

Looking around, Naruto's eyes immediately met the purple haired girl's who sent him a wink as well as blew him a kiss, no one noticing this save for himself.

Naruto immediately knew that she was no ordinary girl.

* * *

**Well….I'm back. I really have nothing to say except that I'll try to update as much as possible of this story before I leave.**

**But in the event that I can't update again, then this will be it for now. Once again, it would be extremely helpful if you sent me your feedback. That is all.**

**So…..see you whenever.**


	3. Two Crossroads

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
"Hmm…"- Summonings, and Black Zetsu**

* * *

**Chapter 2:  
Two Crossroads**

"It seems like the plan went well."

"Yeah…..we need to move though. Issue the order. Anyone who isn't at the extraction point in four hours from now will be left behind."

"If I may, sir, what's the rush? Violet has everything under control. There really isn't any-"

"I may tolerate Violet talking back to me because of what she is, but not you. I gave an order. Follow it."

"Yes, sir. I apologize if I stepped out of line with that comment, sir."

"Don't dwell on it. Just make sure that it doesn't happen again. Now get a move on."

"Roger."

A man in his late twenties with black hair and dressed in a black suit nodded before he walked towards where the entrance to the stairs were so that he could go back down from the roof where he and the man had watched the proceedings after Violet had murdered the king of Saudi Arabia.

The man looked at his retreating subordinate for a moment longer before turning his attention back to the palace that stood a couple of miles from the rooftop where he was standing. Even from this distance, he could see everything like as if he were present a few feet from where the action was taking place. He was dressed once again in his modern attire rather than the white cloak which he had only worn again in order to catch Naruto's attention. No doubt that the Uzumaki wouldn't have had recognized him if he had gone into the party dressed the way that he was now. Or the way that he looked.

His lips gained a small grin as he watched many of the guests from the party leaving the palace in a hurry. No doubt that they didn't want anything to do with the aftermath that was about to occur. All throughout the palace, the personal guards of the king were scrambling about, trying to figure what to do while others guided the leaving guests outside.

This was perfect. The news of the king's assassination wouldn't take long to reach the ears of the other countries. He already knew that each major country had at least one spy planted in the country. It wouldn't take long for the bodies to be identified as Americans either.

But the man savored this accomplishment even more at the thought that one of the dead bodies belonged to one of Naruto's remaining associates. And unlike before, he wouldn't be able to bring her back. He had made sure of it already.

This would make the boy regret the choice that he had made all this time. Mainly, not following through with what the man was hoping that he would do. It was the whole reason that he even gave the rinnegan to him. To a _human_! It was basically part of his powers right there in a sense. And he had wasted it which was something that the man did not appreciate in the slightest.

He wasn't easy to anger, but Naruto had completely done so. He was infuriated with the boy. But now it didn't matter. He had Violet now. Except that this time he would make sure that things would go the way that he wanted for them to go.

After all, Kami wasn't interested in this. And without Kami participating in this high staked game, there was no one else that could stop him. Not even Naruto.

* * *

Naruto stared at the purple haired girl that was being helped by some of the security guards get out of the courtyard of the palace and to her ride which was, surprisingly enough, a black limo. Not many people in Saudi Arabia had one. Hell, it was mainly tourists and business people that owned or rented one, most times being the latter just like in this case. But by the looks of it, Naruto could see that the purple haired girl was Japanese. Or of Japanese descent at the least.

She had been in the room with the king when he had been assassinated. From what Naruto had heard, she had stated that the two intruders had somehow sneaked into the room, stabbed the king in the heart while they were….going at it before she screamed which resulted in the two guards outside of the door rushing in. Immediately seeing what had happened, they had killed the two intruders before they could escape.

Of course, there was one major problem in that story: Anko was one of the supposed 'intruders.' And there was no way that she would have ever had done something like this. And even if she did, she wouldn't have had lost to two simple guards either. She was more skilled than that.

Not only that, but why had the girl winked at him as well as blow him a kiss? It was like she knew who he was. But that wasn't possible. Naruto would have remembered meeting her if that were the case. Despite the current situation, Naruto had to admit that the girl was extremely beautiful. A heart shaped face with all the right curves in her body as well as a good sized chest. And not to mention her eyes. Despite himself, Naruto had to say that he liked her eyes the most. They were just perfect.

Next to him, Kushina slightly elbowed him. "Is there any reason that you're staring at that girl right now?"

Naruto shook his head in order to clear it from his current thoughts while the girl climbed into the limo at the exact moment.

Naruto looked at Kushina who had a small frown on her face. "It's nothing. I was just rethinking her story. I mean, there's just no way that Anko would do something like this. It just doesn't make any sense." He wasn't going to tell her what the girl had done though. He would keep that to himself for the moment. It wasn't like if it was relevant…..right?

Kushina sighed. "I know what you mean. This whole situation is confusing….."

Fuka spoke up from Naruto's other side. "But why are they letting her go!? She's an important witness. Especially in a situation like this."

That caused for Naruto to frown as the limo drove off towards the direction of the city. "Good point…."

Kushina looked at them. "No doubt that the guards aren't thinking of that. They're the only military and security power at the moment. We should get out of here, though. It won't take long for the authorities from other countries to get here. And who knows how long it would take for us to leave if that were the case."

That was one of the major reasons that many of the other guests were already leaving with some having already left. A few did stay, however. But Naruto wasn't interested in the slightest as to why they were.

He had to agree with Kushina that leaving was the best option right now, though, as he walked alongside both of the redheads. They needed to find out just what exactly had happened to Anko. But something did tell Naruto that the one responsible was the old man dressed in the white cloak. Why else would he have had been here then? To just greet him? Highly unlikely.

The other thing bugging him was as to who that girl was. She wasn't normal. That much Naruto could tell. But just who was she then?

_"My new creation that surpasses the failure that you are, Naruto."_

Naruto stopped dead on his tracks as those words from the old man ran all throughout his mind, causing for both Kushina and Fuka to stop as well. They both looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What is it?" Kushina asked.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them, looking at her with a forced grin. "It's nothing."

With that, they continued towards their own vehicle which also happened to be a rented black limo. But those words continued to repeat themselves in Naruto's head.

'She couldn't be…..'

* * *

"Congratulations are in order."

Violet rolled her eyes slightly as she placed one of her hands on her cheek, looking at the man who had appeared inside the limo in the other window seat to her left in an instant.

"That's really creepy, you know. You should stop doing that, especially in front of me."

But the man didn't comment on that. Instead he looked at her, saying, "Did you make sure that none of your fingerprints were on the knife?"

Violet rolled her eyes again. "Yes, I did. I'm not an amateur, you know. I mean, you did send me to train with the best teachers in combat in the whole world as well as killers. My prints are nowhere on it."

The man merely nodded, turning to look through the window to his left. "Good."

Violet grinned as she leaned back on her seat, folding her arms in front of her chest as well as sitting with one leg over the other.

"You should have seen the look on the guy's face when I stab him! To think that he actually thought that I was going to sleep with him…."

Violet's face turned into a disgusted look at the thought. Of course, nothing had happened. They had simply entered the bedroom, after which she had posed on the bed, beckoning for him to follow her. Once he was close enough, she had quickly stabbed him before she pushed him to the bed on his back, the king already having been dead.

There was no way that she would have had allowed for that man to have had touched her. Hell, no other man in the world either. Well, except for one. And she was confident that she would have him soon enough.

"Now, all we need to do is to wait for humanity to do what it does best: find someone to place the blame on before they start killing each other."

Violet glanced at the man that was still looking out through the window. She wasn't sure, but she thought that she could hear the tiniest bit of excitement present in his voice. That couldn't be possible, though...right? But then again, this was his goal. So maybe it wasn't too farfetched.

Violet grinned as she closed her eyes, leaning back on her seat even more than before.

'You may not realize this or enjoy it, but you might be the same as us humans in some occasions, Watcher…..'

But for now, they needed to prepare for their guest that was due to arrive in a couple of hours. And Violet really couldn't wait for it.

* * *

Naruto calmly walked through the deserted alley in one of the poorest areas of the city with only trash cans present on both sides of the alley. Both Kushina and Fuka were in the hotel, changing in order to get some sleep for the night. Of course, they had wanted to come with him, an idea that he had quickly shot down. This was something that he needed to do on his own. Not to mention the fact that there was something else that he was planning on doing tonight. But that would come after this.

Having discarded his suit that he had worn earlier at the party, Naruto now wore the outfit that he wad worn before he had gotten to Saudi Arabia accompanied with black gloves and an anbu mask as well as a shinobi pouch wrapped around his right leg.

Stopping on his tracks in front of a dead end, Naruto looked behind him, trying to both see and sense if anyone was nearby. But sensing that no one was, Naruto faced forward again before he brought his hand down on the ground.

Feeling a familiar presence arrive as well as the dark atmosphere that he brought along with him, Naruto came face to face with the god of death himself as he stood up.

**"Uzumaki…."**

"From your tone alone, I can guess that you're not happy to see me, Shinigami."

The Shinigami was silent for a few moments before he responded, **"Well, you're absolutely right on that account. I can already guess why you have summoned me. And my answer is no. I have already told you that I'm not getting myself involved in this affair. I should also rip out your soul since you've already known where I stand on this matter."**

Naruto frowned behind his fox anbu mask. "And I still don't understand your reasoning."

The Shinigami waved one of his hands in dismissal. **"But you don't have to. All you have to understand is that my helping you has ended."**

Naruto lost his temper. "But WHY!?"

**"Don't use that tone with me, human!"** the Shinigami snapped back. **"You should be glad that I haven't killed you yet!"**

"Then why don't you?"

The Shinigami was silent again. After a few moments, he replied. **"That has nothing to do with you."**

Naruto shook his head. "And that is where you are wrong. This has everything to do with me!" Taking off his mask in an instant, Naruto pointed at his rinnegan eyes. "These eyes…..just who gave them to me! Just who the hell is that man!?"

**"That is something that you need to learn on your own. And this time, you won't be getting as much assistance from anyone else like you did in the past. Not even from your past self…."**

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration. That was something else that he still hadn't quite figured out yet. Just what had happened to the Rikudo Sennin?

Naruto then sighed as he looked at the ground beneath his feet. "I don't get it…..you yourself said that you didn't abide by the rules. So why are you now?" Naruto raised his head to look at the Shinigami. "That's why you won't help me, isn't it? Something has happened…..something has made you-"

**"You're partially correct. Yes, I've already been told that I'm not to interfere any longer. Hell, I'm pretty sure that my talking to you right now is interfering too much. But I'm also choosing to not help you. You're on your own now, Uzumaki. You and those two. Mitarashi Anko shall remain in my realm. She no longer belongs in the land of the living."**

Reaching into his shinobi pouch that was wrapped on his leg, Naruto pulled out a scroll which he pointed straight at the god of death.

"What about this, then!? It's the very fuinjutsu that allowed for Kabuto to bring back the Kages, including the Sandaime and my father. With this, I can bring her back!"

The Shinigami let out a snort. **"Quite desperate, aren't you, boy? But even that won't work. The only reason that I even allowed for that Kabuto to bring back those Kage of yours was only through my consent. Because I thought it would be amusing. Nothing more. But not this time. Just like with the contract that I have with you, it won't work now."**

Naruto gritted his teeth again before he threw the scroll to the side in obvious anger, not that it mattered. The scroll containing the fuinjutsu was now useless.

Naruto looked at the Shinigami in desperation. "Just why are you doing this?"

**"Like I told you: that's for you to find out. My involvement in this now is strictly as an observer. Nothing more. I wish you luck, Uzumaki. And don't think about summoning me again. If you do, I **_**will**_** rip out your soul. Rules be damned."**

Naruto could only watch in anger as the Shinigami disappeared, not being able to think of anything to change the god of death's mind.

So that was it then. Anko wasn't coming back. She was now dead. And he couldn't do anything about it. Not only that, but this only gave him more questions than answers. Just what exactly was happening here? The rinnegan…..just why did he have it? For what reason? In the past, the Shinigami had made it sound as if it were an instrument for Kami himself. And perhaps that had been the case. But not now. Now, it was something else. More like a curse, really.

And there was only one lead that Naruto had at the moment. He would follow through with it. He needed answers. And he wouldn't stop until he got them.

* * *

Kushina could only sigh as she stood on the balcony that Fuka herself had been a few hours prior. Leaning slightly against the edge, Kushina looked up at the night sky, the starts brightening her otherwise gloomy mood.

Not that she could help it. Things were just getting worst and worst with the arrival of the man in the white cloak. Of course, things hadn't been perfect between her and Naruto before all of this happened either. No matter how much she had tried to pretend that they were or even joke about it, things were far from that.

And it all came down to Naruto and his troubles of letting go of the past. She herself didn't fully understood that either. It was now over more than three thousand years! Troubles just didn't stay that long, no matter how deep they were. But then again, no human lived that long except for themselves.

Not only that, but Naruto even buried of all of that deep in his heart, not allowing for Kushina to try and help him deal with it. That was why she was here, after all. To be there for him in whatever troubles it was that rose up for him. And the same could be said about him.

And all of this finally came together in one of the biggest problems that both Naruto and Kushina had in their relationship: the need to start a family. Kushina had wanted this for a long time now, but Naruto was a different story. He was reluctant, saying that he wasn't ready for something like that. But Kushina was getting impatient as well. This was something that she truly and deeply wanted. It was a chance for them to recreate the Uzumaki clan once again as well.

But just why was Naruto so reluctant? Kushina did have an idea to that, however. Mainly just how things between Naruto and Minato had been. Maybe Naruto feared that the same could happen to him. Well, not sealing a bijuu into his son or daughter, but that he or she could end up hating him for some reason or another.

Kushina really didn't know. And it was infuriating to her. Having a big family was always a big dream for hers ever since her own clan had been wiped out. And now that she was in the perfect condition to do so, mainly her not being a jinchuriki any longer as well as being in a stable relationship and situation, she couldn't do it!

Kushina did know that she would never leave Naruto though. She loved him too much. Not to mention the fact that despite their odd relationship, Naruto was still her son. He was the only family that she had left. Well, besides Fuka and even Anko as well.

Thinking of Anko brought Kushina to an even gloomier mood. She only hoped that Naruto could convince the Shinigami in bringing her back to the land of the living. She had been there when the Shinigami had said that he wasn't going to get involved any longer, though. So she knew that there was a chance that the god of death could deny Naruto's plead.

And without the Shinigami, the only other way to revive Anko would be to use the **Rinne Tensei**, but Naruto would have to sacrifice himself to do so. Which was out of the question. Even Anko would agree to that.

"Not going to bed, are you?"

Kushina turned her head back to see Fuka standing by the doorway of the balcony much like she had done so before they had left to the party earlier in the night.

Kushina turned back to looking at the city and the stars. "I will, just not now."

Fuka sighed as she walked forward in order to stand next to her fellow female Uzumaki.

"You do know that he's going to be all right, right? Not only that, but he'll bring Anko back with him as well."

'I'm not so sure about that…..' thought Kushina but didn't say it out loud. She didn't want to worry Fuka anymore than she already was.

Fuka looked up at the stars much like Kushina was. It was one of the few comforts that she still had once she had lost Mito.

Kushina glanced at her. "Still missing Mito-sama, aren't you?"

Fuka sighed as she looked down at her hands. "Yeah. She's the whole reason I'm here, you know. If it weren't for her, I would have probably had died in Uzu with the rest of our clan. Heh…..I actually never thought that I would ever feel like this. Not until I met her and you guys that is. My whole life was basically changed. My eyes were wide open to the fact that the man I was following was nothing more than a fool and not even a player in the grand game that is destiny."

Kushina chuckled quietly. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met her before I became a jinchuriki either. She basically kept me from going down a darker path."

Fuka looked at her with a smirk. "It seems that we both have that in common, I guess."

Kushina smirked back at her. It was the first time in a long while that she had felt at peace as if she were with family. She only hoped that Naruto would change as well.

The old man had been right in one thing: Naruto was indeed a shell of his former self. And Kushina hoped that the Naruto that she fell in love with would return.

* * *

Naruto landed silently on the middle of the rooftop of the five star hotel that he knew that the purple haired girl was staying in. He had learned of this information from the limo rental business, the same one that he had used. It was the only one in the whole city. He had had to put a genjutsu on the manager in order to find the needed information. And he had gotten it.

Looking around for a moment, Naruto saw a door to his right that was present on the rooftop which no doubt lead to the lower levels of the hotel. Walking to it, Naruto tried to open it only to find it locked. Channeling a charge of electricity to the lock by using his lightning type chakra, it snapped open. He quickly opened it, intent on heading to where the girl's room was which was on the fourth floor in a suite.

Taking to the shadows, Naruto was quick to arrive at the designated floor by using the stairs and not one of the elevators. Opening the door that lead to the fourth floor, Naruto looked around for a moment, finding the hallway to be empty. Walking into the narrow hallway, Naruto saw two doors in the middle of the hallway on each side: to his right which was for the elevator and the other to his left which was for the door that lead to the suite.

Walking forward, Naruto stopped in front of the door that lead into the suite. Putting his hand on the doorknob, Naruto found the door to be unlocked. Finding this to be odd, Naruto hesitated for a moment before he steadied himself. This is what he had been waiting for. Well, or what he thought was what he was waiting for at least. The girl was definitely not your average girl. She was up to something. And Naruto had a feeling that it was tied with the old man and by default, with himself as well.

In an instant, he opened the door and appeared inside the suite, instantly on guard as he looked around. But it was just your average suite. Big, fancy, and with a mini bar to his right full of drinks that were both non-alcoholic and alcoholic. No doubt that the hotel added this for guests that were foreigners.

And sitting right there on a stool in front of the mini bar while drinking a shot of scotch was a man dressed in a brown leather jacket with his back turned towards Naruto.

Naruto frowned behind his mask as he saw this. 'Just what's going on here?' Wasn't this where the purple haired girl was staying? Well, unless the girl and this man were an item. Which would then bring up the question as to why the girl had been with the king in the first place.

"So did come. Just like she said you would."

Naruto's frown remained at hearing this, recognizing the voice instantly. He had just heard it a couple of hours ago. But it couldn't be! The man in front of him looked like an average person! Not the old man in the white cloak. Not to mention the fact that he was younger…..and human.

"You really shouldn't doubt my abilities. I mean, you were the one to create them."

Naruto immediately turned around towards the entrance of the suite as soon as the first word was uttered, coming face to face with the girl that he had been looking for with a dozen or so men behind her, all dressed in black suits.

Said girl was now dressed in a black skirt, a dark purple tank top with a skull and crossbones present right across her chest, black and purple stockings with black gothic boots, and a black puffy jacket that stopped just above her waist with a fur hood.

Looking at her eyes, Naruto saw great excitement present in them and had to wonder as to why that was.

The man turned to face Naruto who saw this, making the rinnegan wielder glance at him but also keeping the purple haired girl and the goons behind her in his peripherals.

"You're too late, Naruto. We have already accomplished what we were trying to do here. Now, we are merely just waiting for our transport to get out of this country."

Naruto frowned again at hearing this. No doubt that the assassination of the king was their objective. But why? And why did they have to have-

Having thought about the situation more deeply now than before, realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks.

Looking straight at the man, Naruto said, "You can't possibly be trying to start a war…."

The man looked right back at him. "But that is exactly what I'm trying to do. It also seems that you recognize who I am…."

Naruto shook his head. "You can't possibly be the same person! You're just a-"

"Human?" finished the man with a raised eyebrow. "You really shouldn't believe everything that you see, Naruto. But that is of no concern to me. Whether you believe that I'm human or something else, I really don't care. But I do have other business to attend to, so I'm going to let Violet here take care of you. But if we meet again…." He left the rest of the statement hanging.

With that, the man disappeared in the very same manner that he had done so before, making Naruto believe that he was in fact the old man in the white cloak. But how?

"Shall we carry on?"

Naruto turned his full attention to the now named Violet as the men behind her all stepped forward towards him, every single one of them bringing forward an M-16 rifle that Naruto had not taken notice of earlier.

Naruto immediately brought his right arm forward as the men all fired their weapons at him, repelling every single bullet of their magazines.

Violet licked her lips at the sight. This was what she had been waiting for. But of course, she was going to take her time, savoring the act of bringing Naruto to her side.

All of the bullets from the rifles fell to the ground one after another after the men had all exhausted their rounds in their magazines.

Naruto was about to counterattack until Violet stepped up, her brown eyes shining in a gold light.

"That's quite enough for now, Naruto."

Everything went still. The men with the guns, the air, Naruto, and well…..everything else in the area. Time had literally been stopped. And this was due to Violet's power. She could manipulate time itself. Not only that, but she could see through time as well just like the wielder of the rinnegan could once he mastered it to a certain degree. But unlike a rinnegan user, her seeing of the future and of the past was perfect. The only problem that rose was that of when Violet tried to see the different outcomes that could happen in a future event. There were just so many of them. But of course, there was still only one future, and some chances were higher than others. So based on this, she could basically predict what would happen in the future to a certain degree. Just like she had done so tonight.

She had known that Naruto was going to search for her. After all, she had made it perfectly clear that she wasn't a normal girl. That she perhaps had other motives. But it was all for the purpose of the current moment turning into reality. She had given the limo rental business the address of the wrong room. She had been staying downstairs in a simple two bed room. Well, simple compared to this suite at least. Not that she had minded either. And so with the approval of the Watcher, or so he called himself, this suite had also been rented for tonight.

Walking towards the frozen Naruto, Violet took off the mask that Naruto was wearing once she was in front of him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Violet brought her lips to his, savoring her first kiss as much as possible. And all the while, Naruto stood still like a rock.

Bringing her head back as well as separating her lips from his, Violet stared into Naruto's rinnegan eyes. "I'm pretty sure that you can hear and see this because of these eyes of yours, so I'm going to leave you with a parting message, Naruto: don't fight us. You're one of us, not like the rest of our kind. You should join us! This would be exactly the same thing that you did to your home village all those years ago. You now also know what I'm capable of. Hell, I could even kill you right now if I wanted to which is just exactly what that man also wants. But I don't. I want _you_. And you will be mine."

Placing Naruto's mask where it had been, Violet pulled away from him and walked towards the black suit wearing men who she unfroze in an instant.

"Let's go. We don't want to miss our departure."

The men who held their heads in slight pain quickly followed behind her with Violet sending Naruto one last wink before she and the others walked out of the suite.

It wasn't after she was a good distance away from the hotel that she freed Naruto with the authorities already on their way after the hotel had contacted them because of the shooting.

* * *

"You could have killed him right then and there. Why didn't you?"

Violet glanced at the Watcher who sat next to her in their own private yet in the airport in the capital of Saudi Arabia. After all, their business here was now finished. There was no reason for them to stay here any longer. Something that she was extremely glad for. The heat of this country wasn't something that she was very fond of. The hotel which had a working AC had been her only salvation these past few weeks.

Violet sent him a small grin. "Because I want to enjoy my time in taking him down. Besides, wouldn't it be better if you had _two _disciples under your wing rather than one?" Violet turned away from him, looking out the small window that was present to her right in order to let those words sink in.

The Watcher narrowed his eyes slightly, understanding what Violet was trying to say. But he didn't comment on it. Instead, he said, "At any rate, we have a new obstacle to deal with now."

Violet raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him again. "Oh? And I thought that after this, things would go down smoothly."

The Watcher sighed. "I thought so too. And they will to a certain extent. It won't take long for tensions to rise between the nations. But it seems that despite my careful planning, something that I didn't want to deal with has now appeared."

Violet sighed before she turned her gaze back to the window, the jet starting to begin its ascend on the runway. "Is that so? Where are we going then?"

"Japan."

* * *

Naruto sat quietly in the edge of a random rooftop in the middle of the city, his mask laying beside him. Down below him, the life of the city began to start in the early morning. He had been sitting here for several hours now, his mind replaying everything that he had just learned. No doubt that Kushina would chew him out once he returned to their hotel, but he wanted a moment of peace to himself for now.

**"So this is where you were."**

Naruto sighed as he immediately knew who had just appeared. Well, so much for a moment of peace.

Looking behind him, Naruto saw Zetsu appearing on the ground of the rooftop.

"So did you find out I asked for?"

It was White Zetsu that answered. "We did. It wasn't easy, but we managed to piece together some pieces of the puzzle."

"I see…."

Naruto turned back to looking down at the city below him.

**"News of the king's death has already reached the ears of the other major countries. They've already sent their forces here in hopes of trying to sort this out as well as to prevent any neighboring nations from trying to take over. But with Anko's body on the scene…."**

"I know…."

The United States would no doubt be blamed. And with how hectic things were, recovering the bodies would be extremely difficult, even at the party last night. That was one thing that the guards had done right. And Naruto didn't want to draw any attention to himself in the event that he was seen. Not that it would have mattered. Some of Anko's and the other person's blood had been stained on the ground. And with the technology that existed these days, the investigation forces would no doubt find traces of it and match it to Anko and the man with her who were CIA agents.

Now, all that he could do was to wait and see what would happen now as a result of this.

**"We should leave this country now. It will be more difficult if we wait."**

Naruto stood up without a word, placing his anbu mask back on his face.

Black Zetsu was right. There was no time for thinking. Now, it was time for acting.

That girl, Violet…..he would bring her down. That was a promise.

* * *

**I'm back again with the final update for now, concluding the introduction of the story and its plot. That's right. I'm heading out. Time for me to enjoy my long awaited trip. I'm leaving tomorrow morning, like extremely early. And in case you're wondering, yes, I will be bringing my laptop with me. But no, I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to update any longer.**

**I'm going on this trip for relaxation purposes and hanging out with friends in order to enjoy the rest of my vacation before I restart school again, so that includes no writing Well, that's all that I've got. A review would be extremely welcomed.**

**And I'm out. See you guys in a couple of months, I guess.**


	4. The Third pt I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
"Hmm…."- Black Zetsu  
**_"Hmm…"_**- Dream/Flashback**

* * *

**Chapter 3:  
The Third pt. I **

_"Naruto-nii-chan….."_

_Naruto sent one of the last remaining genin in the village an emotionless look as he stood directly in front of him underneath the now destroyed village of Konoha._

_"Konohamaru."_

_Sarutobi Konohamaru looked at the person that he had once considered his idol with shaking eyes, both of his hands turning into fists at his sides. Behind him, both of his best friends and fellow teammate members stood with shaking legs._

_They were currently in a huge chamber to where the civilian populace of Konoha had been evacuated to. The said civilians were currently cowering in the background. But with the other passage that led to the exit of the chamber on the other side being blocked by both Anko and Fuka, they had nowhere to go to._

_Kushina who stood on Naruto's left glanced at him, wondering if he would hesitate here. From what she had seen of his memories, the young Sarutobi in front of them had been one of his first true friends._

_Despite knowing the situation he was in, Konohamaru stood his ground._

_"We won't let you harm these people," he stated through gritted teeth._

_"Oh?" Kushina raised an eyebrow at hearing this. She had to give props to the young genin. Where other older shinobi would have cowered in this situation, he stood his ground._

_Naruto for his part sent him an amused grin. "And what makes you think that you can stop me? After all, your friends don't seem to share your view."_

_And he wasn't just talking about Moegi and Udon either. Present in the evacuation chamber were many other genin spread all throughout the massive crowd of civilians. Of course, Naruto had no clue as to who they were exactly, nor did he care for that matter._

_Both knowing this and not blaming his teammates for feeling fear, Konohamaru merely clenched his fists as he looked directly at Naruto's eyes, some of his nervousness present in his own eyes along with something else: anger. Anger for everything that Naruto had done. For destroying the place that was his home. Of course, the young Sarutobi knew that he couldn't do anything about it, but that still didn't stop him from hating the person in front of him or showing it for that fact._

_Seeing all of this, Naruto sighed as he ran a hand through his silver locks. With everything now set and done as well as with the power that he felt radiating through him, he had calmed down significantly. Naruto had a feeling that this would happen when everything had been completed. That he would feel no drive any longer._

_'Heh, there's some truth to the fact that revenge really leaves you with nothing in the end….' he thought with a small grin._

_Looking at Konohamaru once more, Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Everything's over now, Konohamaru. There's no need for you to be doing what you're doing. It's pointless."_

_"It's not pointless!" was the immediate response from the genin. Taking a breath in, Konohamaru looked at Naruto with a cold gaze, similar to the one that Naruto had worn earlier in the day. "I admit that I don't know why you're doing this, and it's more than likely that you had your reasons. But….this place was still my home! Even now! The buildings and structures may be gone, but not the feelings of those that lived here! And as long as they remain, I won't stop trying to fulfill my own duty!"_

_Next to Naruto, Kushina actually let a small smile appear on her face. If none of this had ever occurred, the young boy in front of her could have been something in the future. Of that, she had no doubt. It reminded her of how Naruto had been in the past._

_Naruto merely let out one final sigh before he turned his back towards the young boy. He had no desire to listen to something like that. Not now. Not ever. Especially about this place. Despite that, a small amount of his respect was given to the the young genin. Even though he didn't agree with him, the mere fact that he was ready to give down his life for his belief….it was admirable._

_'And stupid….'_

_Without anymore words, Naruto merely walked towards the passage in front of him that let out back to the surface, Kushina right at his side. The redhead spared the young Sarutobi one final glance before facing forward. On the other side, both Anko and Fuka took this as their cue to also get out of there._

_Konohamaru swallowed a lump on his throat as he watched Naruto walk away. Why wasn't he killing them? Wasn't that the whole reason that he even came down here for? Or was it something else?  
_

_The answer came not a second later as black spheres were suddenly shot out from Naruto's back and towards them._

_Behind him, both Moegi and Udon let out a scream as they watched the spheres coming towards them, an act which was mirrored by the rest of the genin present and the civilians as well._

_But Konohamaru merely closed his eyes, accepting what was going to happen. It wasn't like he could do anything to stop it either. What would the point in resisting be when he already knew the outcome? Not only that, but despite what he had said, he knew that Konoha no longer existed. It was gone, taking part of his heart along with it.  
_

_Naruto also closed his eyes as he heard the mini bijuu bombs blow up behind him, causing for a cave in to start to occur. Wrapping his arm around Kushina's waist, they both disappeared in a dark flash._

_Naruto didn't look back even once._

* * *

'Another one….'

Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself staring at the shapes of the white clouds in the sky from the window of within one of the private jets that Fuka owned. It was the same one that they had used previously. Behind them, they left quite a mess that they had not been able to stop. Mainly, the assassination of the king.

With that, things were sure to become a hell hole once again. Well, it wasn't like some parts of the world weren't a hell hole already, but that was beside the point. How long would it take? Naruto wasn't sure yet.

Next to him on his right, a sleeping Kushina was currently leaning next to him as she silently snored. In front of them, an awake Fuka was also gazing out of the window through her right.

The atmosphere was solemn for one reason: Anko was now dead. And they couldn't do anything to bring her back. Without the Shinigami and his jutsu, they were now basically mortals again. So they couldn't aged. That didn't mean that they couldn't be killed, Anko being the prime example. Especially with the arrival of the unknown.

Fuka had taken it the hardest amongst them. She and Anko had become quite literally sisters in all but blood throughout the years. Knowing that she was now dead….it left a huge impact on the attractive redhead, not to mention a deep hole in her heart.

But there was something else: the desire to payback the person responsible for it, mainly the old man. Well, he wasn't an old man anymore. That was for sure. Who knew what he really was.

Naruto merely stared at her for a few more moments before closing his eyes, knowing that there wasn't anything that he could say right now that would be helpful. Fuka simply needed her space right now.

"You know it wasn't your fault."

Opening his eyes, Naruto looked at Kushina to find her awake as well as the one who had just spoken.

Leaning away from him and looking at Fuka, Kushina crossed her arms in front of her. "It's not like Fuka blames you for it either. Am I right?"

Fuka sighed as she turned to look at them, mainly at Naruto. "Yeah, she's right. You shouldn't really handle all of the blame by yourself, Naruto. It wasn't like we knew what was going to take place back there. It was just mainly speculations on our part. None of us were cautious enough. But now we know what we're dealing with. At the very least a chunk of it if what you told us was true."

Mainly the power that that Violet girl possessed. It was extremely dangerous, plain and simple.

"You don't have to tell me that twice…."

Kushina sighed. "But our biggest concern is as to what to do now. We have no leads as to where they could have headed. And with Anko gone, we've now lost our biggest intelligence network."

Naruto shook his head at that. "Don't be so sure. I've done my share of things as well in the world, you know."

Fuka raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what would that be?"

**"I think that he means us."**

Fuka let out a small shriek as Zetsu appeared on top of them on the jet's main room's ceiling.

"How long have you been there for?" asked Kushina with a curious tone.

"Since you left the capital." It was White Zetsu that answered.

Fuka sent them a glare. "Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again."

White Zetsu grinned. "Scary."

Fuka's hair began to move as a response causing for the the grin on White Zetsu's face to disappear. He didn't want to get maul. Even he wasn't that stupid.

All the while, Kushina merely watched, quite amused by all of this.

Naruto for his part simply sighed before looking at Black Zetsu. "All right. Since we're all here, I think it's time that you told me what you found."

Kushina looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow as she heard this. "I didn't know that you were looking for something."

Naruto shook his head. "I wasn't. It was more like rumors, really. Quite a lot of them in fact."

Now even Fuka was interested. "Rumors?"

Naruto nodded as he leaned back on his chair. "Yeah. There's been quite a lot of activity in Japan this past year. Not normal activity at least."

Kushina folded her arms in front of her again. "And by 'normal,' you mean what exactly?"

**"Human."**

Kushina's eyes widened slightly at this. "So you mean to tell me that-"

"Supernatural," interrupted Naruto before he shrugged. "Well, what the world today would consider supernatural anyways. To us, it would just be normal. But that was in the past."

Kushina brought both of her hands to rub her forehead, feeling a headache coming. "All right. I'm starting to understand."

Fuka looked at Zetsu. "So? Naruto told you to look into these rumors. And you found….?"

White Zetsu grinned again. "It wasn't just the rumors. It was also the rise of this new and unknown organization which we now know is being used by this…..unknown being."

No one present needed any further explanation as to who the 'unknown being' was.

Fuka looked on impatiently now. "And?"

Black Zetsu answered. **"It's called 'The Watch.' I'm not certain as to what that means exactly, but that's the name. They're well spread out throughout the whole world. There's no doubt that they're the ones that pulled this off under the guidance of the…..unknown."**

White Zetsu carried on. "As well as this Violet girl. She's probably working right under for this guy. For what purpose? Well, Naruto already gave you the answer to that."

It was just simply to start another war. But not a regular one. A nuclear war. And with how things had gone in Saudi Arabia, they might have had just accomplished that.

Kushina looked at Naruto. "So all this time you knew the existence of this organization and never told me why…..?"

Naruto sighed. "Because there were too many gaps. I didn't know anything. Hell, I don't think anyone knows much about it. That is why I asked for Zetsu to look into it since Anko already had her hands full. I also didn't know that it was being run by the same person that we're looking for."

**"Just like you, he's done a pretty good job of letting no one know who's running the place. Well, anyone on the outside that is."**

Naruto looked at Black Zetsu with a frown but didn't reply.

Fuka let out a groan. "All right. So that leaves us with what exactly? Just that we know that he's got his own multimillion corporation backing him up. That's great." She said the last part with some sarcasm before she added, "And the rumors?"

White Zetsu looked at her. "The rumors also tie with the organization, not that we knew it at the time. It was only recently that we found this out."

"What are the rumors about exactly?" asked Kushina.

Zetsu was silent until Black Zetsu finally answered, **"It ties with the fact as to why the Shinigami won't cooperate with Naruto anymore."**

Naruto's eyes did snap open at this. With everything that had taken place in Riyadh, there really hadn't been much time to talk. So this was as much of a surprise to him as to the other two redheads.

Fuka narrowed her eyes. "Just what exactly is going on in Japan right now?"

* * *

Violet sighed as she threw her arms behind her after having placed down a beauty magazine on the small glass table in front of her. It would take a few more hours for them to arrive to Tokyo. But boredom was killing her. Fast.

After having met Naruto in person for the first time as well as having giving him her first kiss, she was eager to see him again. But she knew that this wasn't exactly a good thing. Too much eagerness could screw everything up. Especially with what they had to do now.

'Damn Shinigami…..'

Really, the god of death was just being a pain in the ass now. But in all honestly, it seemed that it really wasn't the god of death's fault as to what was currently happening. It was a human. A human trying to play at being something that he was not. But the worst part was as to who or more specifically _what_ was backing him.

Violet closed her eyes.

'He's the third….'

That was the worst part in all of this. Violet herself had never considered this possibility. Hell, in all of the futures that could have had occurred, this one never showed up! It could only mean the interference of one being….and the consequences that came with that weren't exactly good either. Violet could see why The Watcher would be annoyed by this.

Speaking of him, he was currently sitting next to her with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes closed. Violet doubted that he was sleeping. But who knew? Having a human form probably made him acquire several new human habits.

Violet smirked at the thought. Now that was something that she knew that he would not like. Not in the slightest.

* * *

Naruto sighed to himself as he followed behind both Kushina and Fuka through the airport in Tokyo. They had just arrived a few minutes ago, but now was not the time to be taking things easy. Not with how the first confrontation had gone. Especially how they lost Anko. They need to move fast.

But something else was troubling him. Bringing his right hand in front of his face, Naruto could only sigh again as he brought it right back down. Was the old man right? Was he now just a mere shadow of what he had once been? A mere shell?

With how much time had passed, Naruto vaguely remembered how he had been in the past. But one thing was still printed in his mind: the faces of every single person that had sacrificed themselves that day. And not just people either. The bijuu themselves as well.

Naruto grinned slightly. 'Kurama would probably bitch me out for the way that I've been acting…..'

Even though he had come to terms with this, Naruto found it difficult in trying to change. Why should he? Was there any point? Anything that he wanted to accomplish anymore?

Looking at Kushina's back, Naruto knew that there was something that she wanted the most in the world. But that was something that he really didn't think that he was ready for. Really, he was just being pathetic now. How long had it been? Thousands of years, and yet he still couldn't get over his problems. That just wasn't right.

'I'm acting just like a coward.'

Case and point right there. He was running away from whatever problems that he still had, something that he knew that he would never have done in the past. So why should he do it now? And he did have a goal now. That goal was to put a certain asshole in his place as well as a certain little purple haired bitch. Yeah, he liked the sound of that.

This was the first moment in which the old Naruto began to make his way back to the surface, ready to come back and stay once and for all.

Kushina didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a sudden change in the atmosphere, something which Fuka also noticed. But they both just pushed it aside as to them just being simply on edge.

* * *

"All right. So let's go over what we know already."

Naruto placed both of his hands in front of him as Kushina began their meeting. The last three remaining Uzumaki and shinobi in the whole world were currently in the **Uzumaki Inc. **tower in Naruto's office. Fuka was currently sitting on top of Naruto's desk while dangling her legs in an almost bored manner while Kushina sat on the other side next to Naruto's chair with her legs one over the other with said silver haired Uzumaki sitting on his chair.

"This organization, **The Watch**, is known for being a corporation similar to **Uzumaki Inc.**," began Kushina.

Fuka carried with, "The only difference being that they have been suspected of doing illegal business on the side. Except that with no evidence, the claims have never been proven up to now."

"But not to us," stated Naruto as he leaned back on his leather chair. "With what happened in Riyadh as well as to the fact that we now know that the Violet girl and the old man own it thanks to Zetsu, it is safe to say that they really are in the illegal aspects of this business."

Kushina nodded. "Yes. But exposing them is not our concern."

Naruto smirked. "Of course not. Our goal is to kill them, of course."

Both Kushina and Fuka shared a look for a moment before placing whatever was on their mind in the back for the time being.

"This now brings us to the rumors that Zetsu also investigated," said Kushina before pausing.

This was the tricky part. How they had missed this was beyond incredulous, especially her and Naruto since they were the ones living in Tokyo.

Naruto frowned, remembering what Zetsu had told them. It was….troubling to say the least. Everything also now made sense as to why the Shinigami was also backing down. Put simply: his world was in deep shit.

"There's no doubt that this…whoever or whatever the hell he is will also be here looking into this himself," stated Fuka after a few moments of silence.

Kushina nodded in agreement. "Yes, if what Zetsu said is true that is."

The Watch had been observing the confrontations here in Japan, mainly Tokyo, for the past months. Hell, for the past year. According to Zetsu, it had been about seventeen months since the last conflict took place. The only problem was that a new one was brewing. The Shinigami's world was split as a result. As to what the Shinigami was going to stop this...well, that was still unknown.

Of course, Naruto knew that it wasn't just because of this that the Shinigami had quit offering his assistance to him. There was something else to it. But he didn't know what that was. Well, not yet at least. Soon he would know. But seventeen months….what had he been doing in the past year, anyways?

Fuka chuckled humorlessly. "We really are pathetic, aren't we? To think that we didn't notice any of this, especially in our own doorstep…."

Kushina shook her head. "It's not really your fault. It's mostly me and Naruto since we're the ones that live here."

That much was true. Anko had been mainly in America while Fuka was...well, everywhere really. Just not simply in Tokyo like Kushina and Naruto. Naruto more so since Kushina did travel to other countries for meetings and such since Naruto didn't bother to do it himself. Or show his face to anyone for that matter.

Naruto sighed as he ran a hand through his silver hair. Now he remembered. He didn't do shit. Just like ever since he built this damn company. All he did was sit at his beach house the whole time. His clones took care of most of the work. No, not most. All of it. The only reason that he ever even showed up was because of Kushina. Not to mention that he'd been repressing his powers for a while now, trying not to see or deal with anything at all. It was plain pathetic in all honesty.

Kushina closed her eyes. "We've simply become regular humans, I guess. To them, nothing has changed either." That was the plain truth.

Naruto suddenly stood up from his chair, an annoyed look on his face.. "Well, fuck that. I've had it with this. It's time for us to get back on the scene. We might have had lost in Riyadh, but that was only the beginning. It's time for our counterattack which begins here and now."

Both Kushina and Fuka looked at Naruto like he'd grown a second head. Just what the hell? This wasn't the Naruto that had been with them for the past several thousand of years now. He sounded like the old one…..

Kushina felt a small glimmer of hope in her heart that that was the case.

Naruto then walked around his desk and towards the exit of his office.

Kushina looked at his retreating back with a raised eyebrow. "Where are you going? We aren't finished here yet!"

"I need fresh air," was the response that she received.

Fuka turned to look at her fellow redhead after the door had closed. "Is it just me, or did he sound like the old Naruto for just a moment there?"

Kushina merely nodded, turning her head the other way so that Fuka couldn't see the smile on her face a second later.

In the next moment, the last member of their group appeared on the ceiling of Naruto's office.

**"It seems that the brat might be making his return real soon."**

Fuka nodded as she looked up. "Yeah. So? What brings you around here?"

White Zetsu didn't grin this time. "Our targets have arrived."

Both redheads looked up at Zetsu after hearing this.

Kushina smirked. "Is that so? It seems that you were right after all, Zetsu."

Black Zetsu looked indifferent. **"Of course we were right. Why shouldn't we be?"**

'That's something that Kyuubi would have said,' thought Kushina with a small smile, thinking of the nine tailed fox before it disappeared. There were things that they needed to get done.

Fuka raised an eyebrow. "Well? What exactly are they here for again? I mean, things aren't going down here right now. So why would they-"

**"I don't know."**

"We haven't figured that out just yet."

Kushina sighed as she looked out towards the city through the glass windows. How many things had taken place and yet, she had been oblivious to them. Too caught up in her work, acting like a regular human being. Well, she supposed that that was what she really wanted now. To become a regular woman as well as a mother once more. But it seemed that circumstances were going to make that impossible for her at the moment. But circumstances were also bringing the old Naruto back as well. She supposed that she could consider that a fair trade.

For now, though, they needed to figure out what exactly it was that the old man and the Violet girl were looking for. And who knew? Maybe they could put an end to this sooner than expected.

* * *

Naruto was currently berating himself as he walked aimlessly through a random street in the city of Tokyo. He didn't really know where he was going, not that it mattered. He just needed to get his thoughts together, mainly as to how much of a failure he had become.

Seriously, it was too pathetic that it wasn't even funny. Just what the hell had happened to him? And it only took him thousand of years to realize this as well. That was even more pathetic in his opinion. He could now see why that old bastard had traded him off. Of course, that still didn't mean that he was going to follow through with what the old bastard wanted. No, far from it. Naruto was planning on shoving a bijuu bomb so far up the bastard's ass that he would never be able to take a dump again. It didn't matter if the old bastard did or didn't at the moment. If he ever wanted to in the future, he wouldn't be able to.

As for the girl….well, she was hot. But she was also a bitch. Then again, so was Kushina. But he wasn't about to cheat on her either. Well, he had kind of done so in the past, but with her consent in a sense. Not to mention the fact that the Violet girl obviously thought that she was superior than him. And that was something that Naruto would need to rectify soon. The next time that they met, things wouldn't go the same. Especially now that he knew what she was capable of.

His train of thoughts were cut off as a man wearing a purple track suit roughly bumped into him. Not only that, but there was also an orange colored hair teen right behind him as well as a black haired one.

"Give me back my bag, asshole!"

From that alone and having seen the bag that the purple track suit wearing individual held, Naruto knew that he was a thief in an instant. Not exactly knowing why, Naruto was soon running side by side with the orange haired teen. It was probably to just to blow off some steam. Something that he did notice though, which was that the teen next to him could keep up with him. But he filed that for later.

The man in the purple track suit soon felt himself be pulled back roughly by two hands on both of his shoulders, and coming face to face with a pair of fists that each belonged to a different person.

Stumbling back a couple of steps due to the impact of the punches, the man then pulled out a knife, an enraged look on his bleeding face.

Seeing this, the orange haired teen was in front of him in an instant, his hand on the man's shoulder once more, pulling the man forward as a result. Using this to his advantage, Naruto was quick to appear in front of the man, bringing his knee forward which came in rough contact with the man's face. The end result was the purple track suit wearing individual falling to the ground on his back, clearly knocked out.

The unnamed teen calmly walked up to pick the bag with the black haired one having just arrived at the spot, his mouth wide open in shock.

"Woah…."

Naruto for his part was merely staring at the teen, clearly surprised to have met someone with incredible physical abilities.

"I appreciated the help," said the orange haired teen as he picked up the bag before walking up to give it back to its owner.

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. "You…..what's your name exactly?"

The teen raised an orange colored eyebrow at the question as he handed the bag back to the black haired person.

Finally he shrugged and answered with, "Ichigo. My name is Kurosaki Ichigo."

* * *

**Yo**

**I'm currently kicking back here in a lavished hotel. Like, holy damn. Room service is like...I don't have the right word to describe it. But anyways, my reason for posting this earlier than planned is simple: yes, it's now become officially a crossover. After much discussion and thought, I decided that it would be for the best even though I had said no previously.**

**That being said, I am not a Bleach fan. Well, not a hardcore fan that is. I'm not saying that the show is bad. I haven't watched enough of it to state my opinion on it. Due to this, I am calling out to you, readers, if you could assist me with this. Any info will be appreciated at the start of this Arc of the show which you must all know which one it is. Of course, I'm also going to do my own research on the anime.**

**You also might be asking yourselves as to why I even did this if I don't watch Bleach….well, for one it fits nice with the plot of the story as well as to the fact that a lot of you asked me for it. So here it is. I'll try my best to do it to the best of my abilities. We'll just see how it goes. If it goes great, or if I fail epically. You be the judge of that.  
**

**Whatever. That's for future reference. With that, I sign off. I don't know when I'll be back though, so yeah. Time to go back to just merely kicking back and ordering myself craps amount of desserts. Wish me luck.**


	5. The Third pt II

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Naruto or Bleach….damn, would I be rich if I did.  
"Hmm…"- Black Zetsu**

* * *

**Chapter 4:  
The Third pt. II**

If there was one thing that a person could expect after living for several thousand of years was that there would be nothing that could still keep surprising him or her. Like, you're thousands of years old! Besides obvious advancements in both the science and the cultural aspect and such, everything else should just be for a lack of a better word….normal.

Or that was how Naruto thought the rest of his life was going to be at least. Just a boring existence with nothing new that could surprise him. Well, fate just gave him a 'what the fuck' moment, effectively proving him wrong. It wasn't like it was a bad thing either. It just made living that much more interesting.

This teenager, Kurosaki Ichigo, was no ordinary teenager. Naruto was sure of that. Besides having an one of kind type of hair color, unless he dyed it of course, his physical prowess was not that of a regular human. The fact that he could keep up with Naruto, who had not been running at normal speeds for a regular human of this age even for professional runners, was proof enough of that. It could also just be that he met a really talented individual as well. But Naruto wasn't entirely convinced of that. Something just kept nagging him, telling him that there was something else at work here. The question now was what to do about it…..

Ichigo wordlessly walked around the black haired teen, not seeing any more reason to stay.

Seeing this, the black haired individual turned towards his retreating form, a small grin on his face. "Oi, you. Why don't you let me treat you for some ramen as a thanks for having helped me get back my bag? Both of you," he added, looking at the still Naruto.

Without turning around, Ichigo responded, "No thanks. I'm good." Two other teenagers wearing the same uniform were standing nearby, no doubt Ichigo's friends.

The black haired individual let out a sigh before turning towards Naruto. "What about you?"

But Naruto wasn't paying any attention to him. Talking a few steps forward, Naruto continued to observe this Ichigo person. "Where exactly did you learn that?"

Ichigo and his two friends who had begun to walk away stopped on their tracks with Ichigo turning around with a raised eyebrow, already guessing what Naruto was curious about. "And of what concern is that to you exactly?"

Naruto shrugged, a small smirk on his face. "Curiosity. I haven't seen anyone with such skills in a quiet some time." And by 'quiet some time,' he meant in thousand of years. Really, with science having taken over, humans had lost the physical prowess that they had once had. It reminded Naruto of how things had been before the Juubi had gotten loose. All though in all honesty, Naruto himself didn't know much of how life had been back then. All he knew was what the Shinigami had shown him.

The brown haired teen standing next to Ichigo nodded in understanding, a hand on his chin as well as a grin on his face. "Well, that's true. There's no one else like Ichigo around here, that's for sure. I mean, Ichigo had super-"

Ichigo merely elbowed him, stopping him from continuing with his statement.

The other short black haired teen shook his head at his friend's idiocy. "Really Keigo…."

The now named Keigo simply rubbed the spot where Ichigo had elbowed him, not saying anything in response. For now at least.

Now Naruto didn't know what to say about that. Really, what could he say?

Ichigo looked at Naruto, releasing a small sigh. "While I appreciate the compliment, it's nothing special. I've just trained at a karate dojo since I was four. That's all."

'Yeah right….' thought Naruto, obviously not believing him.

Ichigo then raised an eyebrow. "What about you though? I mean, you were on par with me in speed as well. So if you think that I've been doing something special, then so have you."

Naruto released an internal snort. That was the understatement of the century. It was the whole reason that he was even asking him about this. Shrugging, he answered, "Nothing much either. I just train like you, I guess. But everyone that I have come across hasn't matched me yet. So the fact that you do just surprised me. I mean, it looks like you're still in high school. That's a serious blow to my pride, you know."

Ichigo nodded at that, obviously understanding where the person in front of him was coming from. Of course, it wasn't anything compared to what he could do with his shinigami powers. Well, if he still had them. Fighting with Aizen had really left a bad aftermath for him. Not that he was going tell the person in front of him that. Speaking of which, he was going to have a serious talk with Keigo after this about keeping secrets.

"I understand, I guess. I would be too if a twelve-year-old could beat me up. But like I said, I don't do anything special."

Naruto looked at him for a few more moments before nodding. Turning around and walking the way that he had come, he threw a wave behind him. "I see. Well, it was nice meeting you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo merely threw a wave back before he and the other two turned to walk towards the opposite way.

The owner of the bag simply sighed as he watched both parties walk away, obviously knowing that he had been forgotten. Oh well, not that it mattered. He got what he came for. And that was what really mattered.

'I'll be seeing you, Kurosaki Ichigo,' he thought with a smirk.

* * *

"You really are stupid you know, Asano-san," stated the third teen in the group, shaking his head in obvious disappointment as well as using his last name in a formal way. He knew how much Keigo hated that.

Keigo merely placed both of his arms behind his head, looking the other way with a huff. "Whatever. I don't need to hear this from you, Mizuiro." It had just simply been a slip of the tongue. It could have had happened to anyone!

"But you do," retorted Ichigo, seeing as Mizuiro was about to back off. "You can't go around saying that I was a shinigami to people." Ichigo then paused. "Actually, I don't think anyone would believe you, but still."

Keigo let out a pout. "You too, Ichigo? I thought we were friends!"

Ichigo released a sigh. "I'm starting to question whether that's good for my health or not at this point…."

Tears started to appear around Keigo's eyes at hearing this before running up to Ichigo in order to capture him in a hug as shown by his spreading both of his arms. "You can't mean that, Ichigo!"

As a response to this, Ichigo merely sent a half thought out punch to intercept him, sending Keigo to the ground on his back.

Mizuiro simply sighed again. But really, he was use to this by now. It was, after all, what made this group interesting. Especially Keigo.

As for Ichigo, he wasn't paying any attention to Keigo as he and Mizuiro continued on their merry way. He didn't even know that he had just punched Keigo in pure reflex either. No, his mind was currently occupied by the silver haired enigma that he had just met. Just like the older individual had become interested in him, so had Ichigo for the very same reason. The point was simple: he had been able to keep up with Ichigo. And Ichigo was certain that he wasn't a shinigami. He wouldn't have had been able to see him then. Only his younger sister, Karin, possessed that ability now. Not that she was too happy about, but that was a a different story all together. Hell, the guy wouldn't even had gotten involved if that was the case!

So really, who was he? He wasn't an ordinary human, that was for sure. Unless what he had been saying was true. That all he did was train. But Ichigo really doubted that.

It was then that Ichigo realized something: he never got the dude's name, even after he gave him his own. Oh well, no point dwelling on it, he guessed. After all, his shinigami days were over. Whoever that person had been, it was more than likely that he would never see him again. That was what he hoped for at least. Just like he didn't want to see any other shinigami which included Rukia. That was the truth of the matter. Even so, he knew somewhere deep in his heart that he was simply lying to himself. But he would never admit that.

Keigo quickly recovered before running up to join with both Ichigo and Mizuiro, yelling the entire way.

None of them noticed or sensed a masked individual observing them from the shadows.

* * *

Kushina sighed as she took Naruto's place on his chair, her legs crossed one over the other. Fuka was still sitting on top of the table with Zetsu still 'hanging' off the ceiling.

"All right. So we got the basic scenario down. But I still feel like we're missing something…."

Fuka snorted at that. "Of course we are. We always are, you know. And that's the annoying part."

Well, she had a point there, Kushina admitted to herself. They were always in the dark. It wasn't until the very end that they knew everything. It was because of that that many casualties resulted. But there was nothing they could do about it. Their only choice was to keep going forward with what little info they had.

Turning towards Zetsu, Kushina spoke, "Just what exactly is happening in the Shinigami's world anyways?"

White Zetsu answered, "We don't have all the pieces together. Not yet at least. All we know is that there is a new war occurring. Apparently, there have been a few recently. The Watch keeps those kinds of secrets well guarded."

Fuka raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly is taking part in this?"

**"That, we don't know either. I don't even think that The Watch is entirely sure yet either. Or maybe they're just hiding that piece of information pretty well."** It was Black Zetsu that answered this time.

Fuka t'sked but didn't say anything else. Just like with Mito, it seemed that she wanted to know all of the facts beforehand.

Kushina leaned back on the leather chair that she was currently sitting on. "So? If this is going on inside of the Shinigami's world, why exactly is The Watch here in Tokyo?"

This time, White Zetsu grinned. "I was hoping you would ask that. This is where things get interesting. For a while now, it seems that The Watch has been keeping tabs on a human, a teenage boy to be exact. For what? Well, that's something else that we weren't able to acquire."

Black Zetsu continued, **"But you must understand how important this. Considering who The Watch is being run by, for the corporation to be interested in a boy or a mere human for that matter….well, there must be something special about him. Something which we do not know yet."**

"Something which we need to find out…." finished Kushina in a whisper.

Black Zetsu nodded. **"Exactly."**

"This just doesn't make any damn sense," spoke up Fuka in irritation. "I mean, why would they do what they did in Riyadh with this going on? What was the whole purpose of assassinating the king if they weren't going to follow through?"

**"We were able to piece that together at least,"** answered Black Zetsu calmly. **"All that is currently happening….the unknown didn't want to deal with it. He had been hoping that things in the Shinigami's world wouldn't escalate to the point that it currently is. His next move was more than likely to just sit back and watch how humanity carried out the rest of his plan for him."**

Realization hit Kushina. "Mainly go into war."

"Indeed," agreed White Zetsu. "Even if the nations at war didn't launch their nuclear weapons from the very beginning, there's no doubt that the unknown would have ignited some other spark for the nations to act rashly and just shoot their damn missiles. Consequences be damned."

Fuka sighed. "It's coming together now….." Really, the idiocy of the ones on top would have had completed the bastard's plan for him. Fuka wasn't even sure how long things would stay quiet in the human world either. Looking at Kushina, she voiced her concerns, "We need to keep an eye on that matter as well. If the major powers do go to war, we need to make sure that it doesn't escalate to them shooting their missiles. I don't know if we would survive the impact afterwards, and I would rather not test that theory out..."

Kushina nodded, a small frown on her face. "You're right..." Really, they had so many things on their plate all of a sudden. How she wished for Anko to still be with them. She would have been of great help, especially with their focus lying in two places. A grin then formed itself on the redhead's pink lips. "But now we've learned something valuable. The conflict that's currently arising in the other world….the bastard didn't want for it to occur."

Fuka turned towards her fellow and now excited redhead again, this time with a confused look on her face. "Yeah. But why are you getting so excited about something like that?"

Kushina waved one of her hands slightly. "I realize that it might not seem like much, but it's something at least. Mainly that we can use this so called war to our advantage by somehow putting pressure on the bastard. If what Zetsu said is true, then he will want for the war to end as soon as possible."

Fuka made an 'o' shape with her mouth, understanding what Kushina was saying. Indeed, it wasn't much. But if they could somehow use the upcoming conflict to turn the tables on the old bastard, then it would be something in the end.

'Especially for Anko…..'

Kushina mirrored her thoughts before the official wife thought of something. "By the way," she began, looking up at Zetsu, "what's the name of the teenage boy that The Watch is currently observing?"

"Kurosaki."

**"Kurosaki Ichigo."**

* * *

'Seriously, something must be wrong with me.'

Now dressed in the attire in which he had worn in Riyadh the night that he had confronted Violet and the other, that was what Naruto thought of the current situation, mainly his following Ichigo to where it was that he lived. It was downright stalking in a sense. But Naruto didn't really put much thought to that. It wouldn't help his sanity any if he did.

Yes, it might seem stupid for him to be doing this, but there was something in his gut telling him that there really was something off about this Ichigo. He didn't really know what, but he was willing to do some investigating in order to find out.

Hence, his being crouched down in a nearby tree in front of the Kurosaki household. Ichigo had walked in about half an hour ago, showing no signs of coming out. If things kept going like this, then Naruto would soon loose interest and just write the whole thing as just meeting a really gifted individual who would have had probably been a good shinobi. But nothing more than that.

In all accounts, it seemed like a regular household. Nothing out of the ordinary. And yet, something made Naruto stay. Perhaps it was just simply boredom. After all, without the old bastard and the purple haired girl being here, there really was nothing more for him or the others to do at the moment except to wait.

Well, Naruto could try contacting the Shinigami again, but he wasn't sure how that would turn out. The god of death had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want anything else to do with this, and yet, he was right in the middle of it! Then again, all that he had said was that he wasn't going to offer his assistance any longer which showed that he was no longer on Naruto's side. Maybe that was what the god of death had been playing at. He was most certainly a part of whatever it was that was going to take place, but he wasn't on anyone's side. Hmm….it made sense at least.

At any rate, Naruto was certain that he would figure things out in the end. But as of right now, he had nothing. Nothing but a hunch. And as a result of having nothing else, he would follow that hunch until the end.

* * *

Naruto wasn't the only one at the scene, however. Nor was he the only one interested in Ichigo.

Parked on the other side of the Kurosaki household were two black SUVs with the two people that Naruto wanted to stick a bijuu bomb into sitting calmly in the second one on the backseats.

Violet threw the calm and reserved looking man next to her a bored look. "Do I really have to come with you to kill this guy? I mean, he's just a regular human right now. Killing him shouldn't be too much of an issue. With me there as well, it would just be overkill."

The Watcher opened his eyes as he glanced at his creation as he liked to call her, something which annoyed the hell out of said 'creation.' "No, you're not coming with me."

Now that caused for Violet to become confused. "Then why am I here then?"

The Watcher let out a sigh. "You've been slacking off, I see. That's not good. Perhaps giving you as much freedom as I do is working against the both of us."

Violet opened her mouth to retort before closing it. Nothing good would come out of back talking the being next to her, not now at least. He was extremely annoyed at the moment despite his calm demeanor.

Seeing this, he continued, "Since it's obvious that you don't know yet, I'll just simply tell you: Uzumaki Naruto is here."

Now that changed Violet's mood altogether. Glancing out the window with a smirk, she said, "Is that so? Well then, I guess it's time for us to meet again."

The Watcher noticed the newly present excitement radiating from the girl next to him which caused him to release another sigh. "Don't make the same mistake as last time. Kill him. If things go perfectly here, all of our problems will be solved here today. It's like killing two bird with one stone."

Violet waved one of her hands in dismissal. "You already know that I can handle him. Besides, without his powers, this Kurosaki Ichigo shouldn't be too much of a bother."

The Watcher shook his head. "That may be, but if he comes in contact with that troublesome organization and regains his powers, it could pose more problems for us in the future. But I'm certain that you already know what I'm talking about."

Violet merely nodded.

The Watcher signaled for both the driver and the individual in the front seat to get out and move towards the Kurosaki household, signaling for the other three men in the front car to move as well.

"Like I said: kill him. Before he can interfere with us any longer. We were lucky of how things went in Riyadh. But if they had known what we were up to beforehand, they could have had stopped us. I don't want any more unnecessary interferences. Even if you have to use _that _power."

Violet didn't respond.

The Watcher simply got out of the car as well, following behind the five men under his command that all wore the same black suits.

Violet let out a chuckle after The Watcher had walked out of the car. She wasn't going to kill Naruto. Far from it. It was only because Naruto opposed them that The Watcher wanted him dead because of the threat that he could become. Not to mention the fact that The Watcher didn't like the fact of how Naruto had squandered the gift that he had given Naruto. Well, in his eyes at least.

But all of that didn't matter to Violet. She wanted Naruto, period. And she would have him.

* * *

Naruto's current thoughts on the situation at hand did a 180-turn at seeing just who was walking towards the gate that led into Ichigo's house. It seemed that following his gut had ended up giving him a golden opportunity after all. He would have to make sure to follow it more often. But that reference was for a later date.

Naruto was about to jump down to the street to confront the 'old bastard' as he now referred the unknown being before his old shinobi senses which he had not used in years kicked in, making him move to the left in order to dodge a well placed kicked aimed to his head.

Violet smirked as she felt her foot come in contact with the tree and not Naruto's face which had obviously been her target.

Less than a second later, Naruto retaliated by grabbing hold of Violet's stretched leg and swinging her towards the concrete street below. Violet merely landed calmly on the ground, Naruto appearing in front of her a few feet away the next moment.

Naruto immediately took notice of the fact that the now thirty something man was no longer outside on the street like them, most likely meaning that he was already inside the house. Talk about fast.

Violet currently had a small grin on her face as she looked at Naruto. "I can't tell you how much I've wanted to see you again," she stated, making Naruto focus on her for the time being.

The comment caused for Naruto to mentally snort. It hadn't even been a day yet since they last saw each other….or was it? Damn time changes. But her apparent obsession over him highly reminded Naruto of Hinata. And that obsession had also cost him to deal with a major problem which could have had jeopardize the whole mission to eradicate Konoha back then. And something told him that it was going to cause a major headache here now as well. Possibly bigger than Hinata's for that matter.

But there was something else that did catch Naruto's attention, however. And that was that the girl in front of him was no slouch. It would seem that despite her powers, she had also trained her body physically, if the earlier attack was any indication.

Well, good. That just made everything sweeter in Naruto's opinion. When he brought her down to knees, both defeated and broken that was.

Seeing that Naruto wasn't going to respond, Violet let out a small pout. Really, couldn't he make these encounters a bit more interesting? They were sort of like dates, after all. Granted, this was only the second that they had met besides that night in the royal palace. But still! And did he have to wear that mask? She wanted to see his face, not some fox anbu mask from ages ago.

Reaching into his holster that was on the right side of his stomach, Naruto pulled out his combat knife or dagger. But it wasn't an ordinary knife. For one, thanks to his and Kushina's combined efforts, but mainly Kushina's, the knife could absorb chakra thanks to the chakra seal receivers that were placed on its blade along with another modification.

Violet simply watched as the knife was soon engulfed in electricity. "Really, this is just pointless. You already know what I can do," Violet said with a shake of her head.

Naruto smirked, not that she could see it. "Ah, that I do. You caught me off guard last time since I didn't really know what you were capable of. That's the only reason that you got me like you did. But you've made a terrible mistake in underestimating me and these eyes. There's a reason why that bastard that you now follow once placed the task of changing this rotten race to me. And you're about to find out."

Violet smirked in response. "Is that so? Well, come at me then." As soon as she finished speaking, her brown eyes began to glow just like last time.

But like Naruto had said, he was prepared this time. Quickly throwing the knife at her, Violet was forced to duck to the side lest she be impaled, and not the good way for that matter.

Seeing this, Naruto was quick to move. Dashing forward, he pulled back his arm which he had used to throw the knife, causing for the said weapon to be pulled back.

Violet narrowed her eyes as she saw this but wasn't able to dwell on it as Naruto was soon upon her, the knife in hand.

It was then that Naruto learned something new about Violet: she could also use chakra like any normal shinobi in the past.

Violet pushed some of her chakra to her feet which she used to push her off the ground and upwards, effectively dodging being stabbed by Naruto.

Naruto narrowed his eyes behind his anbu mask, having sensed the fact that the girl before him could use chakra. He then jumped back to put some distance between them as Violet landed. If she could use chakra, then what else did she have hidden under her sleeves? It also explained how she had gotten to his spot so quickly.

Violet tilted her head to the side. "And here I thought that you would have followed through with that attack of yours. Any reason why you didn't?" She had already figured out that Naruto had a small string of chakra attached to that knife that he carried which he used in order to pull it back towards him.

Naruto merely shrugged as he activated his rinnegan. "I still don't know what your full abilities are. The fact that I didn't know that you could use chakra until now being the proof of that. But I'm not here to play games with you either. I don't know why you're targeting this Kurosaki Ichigo, and I don't really care for that matter. My business is with that old fart that's leading the corporation that you also seem to be a part of."

Violet became surprised at hearing that. Really, she had become too lenient in using her special ability. No, it wasn't lenient. More like arrogant.

She then shook her head. "Sorry, but we can't allow for you to interfere. Not with something as important as this. That Kurosaki person needs to be killed."

'I wonder why though…..' thought Naruto before shaking that thought away. He would figure that out later. Now, he needed to deal with the girl in front of him.

Seeing her gather energy thanks to his rinnegan as well as her eyes starting to glow again, Naruto quickly brought his right arm forward.

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

Violet found herself being pulled towards Naruto by an invisible force. But of course, she already knew of this attack. In mid-air, two Ruger SR9 pistols were on her hands, having had hidden them within her jacket. Bringing them before her in an instant, she fired a shot from each. And due to the jutsu that Naruto had active, the bullets were quick to make their way towards Naruto.

Seeing this, Naruto quickly bent backwards, the bullets passing over him. Violet quickly used this to her advantage as she delivered a powerful axe kick on Naruto, sending him to the ground with a powerful force.

Naruto grunted in slight pain from this. He was out of shape more than he realized if this girl that he was fighting could land a hit on him.

Violet jumped back, landing on the ground in a crouch position with the pistols still in hand.

Naruto stood up, bringing his knife to the ground which sent an electrical current towards the crouched Violet who merely smirked at seeing this.

Her eyes glowed briefly as the electrical current disappeared.

Naruto recoiled in surprise. Just what the hell did she do?

Violet stood up from her crouched position, sending Naruto a wink. "You seem to be able to know how my special ability works, sweetie. It must be because of that rinnegan of yours. Am I right?"

Naruto didn't respond.

Not seeing a response from him but already knowing the answer to that question, Violet carried on, "My special ability requires for me to gather the natural energy around me, meaning that I have an endless supply. But that's not all. Even from that brief encounter in Riyadh, you managed to deduce that the stronger the effect of my ability has on reality, the more energy that I must gather. Like if I wanted to pull off the same trick that I did back in that hotel in Riyadh. I would need a considerate amount of energy, more so than with what I did with that lightning attack of yours."

But Naruto already knew that. He had seen it happen with his rinnegan, after all. It was also what he had been doing up until now which was basically not allowing for Violet to gather the necessary amount of energy that was require for her to do what she did in Riyadh. If she did, he would instantly lose.

Violet shook her head. "But my technique is more than for just allowing for me to see the future or even stopping time in a certain area. Those are just the basics. I've been training to control it better for a while now. Like with what I just did with that lightning based attack of yours."

Naruto soon found himself in the receiving end of his own attack that he had just sent Violet earlier. And in not having known that it was coming, he didn't have the time to absorb it. Coming down on one knee, Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration while looking at Violet. That stung like a bitch! And just like he had guessed earlier, he still didn't know what else this girl had hidden up her sleeve.

Violet giggled. "I suppose you could say that it's similar to that technique that that Uchiha pal of yours had in the past. What was his name? Oh yes, Obito I believe."

Now Naruto understood immediately.

Violet shrugged slightly. "It's not really that hard to understand. I simply sent that lightning of yours into a space vacuum where there is no time. I then simply released it back to you. And since it was instantaneous, the amount of energy that I needed to gather wasn't a large quantity. Like with these bullets for example."

Naruto was immediately on guard when Violet brought both of the pistols in her hands forward again, instantly firing them. But unlike last time, this time they disappeared mid-way, only for them to reappear less than a centimeter in front of him. Not expecting this, both bullets hit him on both of his shoulders, causing for Naruto to fall back on the ground.

Violet giggled again. "See? I simply did the same thing right there. My power can be used in a lot of different ways, Naruto. It's not just simply stopping time or observing it. You just have to be creative is all."

Naruto was silent on his spot on the ground for a few moments before he chuckled. Soon, the chuckles escaping him turned into laughter.

Violet frowned as she saw this, lowering her pistols. Just why was he laughing? There was nothing amusing about this. Well, for him at least. If anything, he should realize that he couldn't win here and just simply surrender.

Naruto continued to laugh as he stood up from the ground. Violet's eyes widened as she saw the two bullets from before being pulled from within Naruto's shoulders and onto the ground. Well, pull wasn't the right verb. More like pushed away by Naruto's body itself. Not only that, but both wounds healed themselves instantaneously.

Naruto brought his laughter under control as he placed a hand on his mask. "You're one tough bitch. I'll give you that much. But like I've said, you underestimate me too much."

A darkish energy began to surround Naruto's form. "You've shown me a bit of what you can do. So I'll now return the favor. Let me show you what _I_ can do."

Violet took a step back as she sensed the pure and raw dark energy that was currently being emanated by Naruto. Despite this, an excited smile appeared on her face as well as a small blush.

'So this is his power…..'

* * *

_Minutes earlier….._

Ichigo had a good ritual planned out for the afternoon. First, take a long nap. Then, eat dinner. And finally start whatever homework it was that he needed to do. This had been the same for him for over seventeen months now. And he was used to it by now. He wasn't complaining.

Throwing his bag halfheartedly to the side, Ichigo threw himself on his bed. He didn't understand why, but despite the fact that his life was now by all means normal, he found himself discontent with it. He just didn't understand why. He had nothing to worry about. Well, except for the entrance exams that were coming up. Now that was something that he wasn't looking forward to.

Ichigo sighed to himself as he rolled to the side.

'Just don't worry about what the others are doing,' he reminded himself. 'That's not you. You're just an ordinary human now.'

Even so, he knew that wasn't the case. Even without his shinigami powers, the very fact that he was the son of both Kurosaki Masaki and Isshin was proof enough that he wasn't ordinary. Well, it wasn't like he knew until recently at any rate. Why the hell did everything have to be so confusing!

Before his thoughts could continue, the sounds of a commotion coming from outside his window caught his attention. Getting up and looking out through it, he caught sight of what looked like a fight. But it wasn't an ordinary fight. No, that was proven to him as he continued to observe it. Just who the hell was that girl and that masked person? And those abilities of theirs...just what the hell?

But before he could dwell on it, he heard his door being opened.

Ichigo sighed as he turned towards the entrance of his room. "Yuzu, I'm not in the-"

He stopped as he came face to face with the forms of two men in black suits instead of the usual form of his younger sister that he had been expecting. What the hell were they doing in his room? More importantly, what were they doing in his house?

Both men pulled out a pistol from within their dress jacket with Ichigo not even bothering to look at them.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," spoke the one on the left, "come with us quietly or we will use force."

Now, how many times had Ichigo heard that before? True, he didn't have his shinigami powers. But just like that silver haired man had pointed out, he still had his physical abilities. But it seemed that the two formal dressed individuals in front of him didn't know that. Well, that was what Ichigo assumed at least. Right now wasn't the time to be thinking this, however. No doubt that his sisters were probably in the same situation as him.

Before either man could take notice of, Ichigo sprinted towards them, sending a powerful punch to the man's face that stood on the right before sending a low kick to the man on the left which effectively brought him down on the ground as well as the one that he had punched. Seeing the man that he had kicked getting up, Ichigo was quick to send an axe kick straight to the man's hand, knocking him out just like his partner was.

Not waiting a second longer, Ichigo ran out his room and downstairs towards the living room, coming face to face with what he had suspected.

Three more men, dressed just like the two that he had just beaten up, were present, holding the same looking pistol that Ichigo didn't bother to identify. His sisters, Karin and Yuzu, were sitting on the sofa with the three men standing before them. But not only that, there was one other man except that he wasn't dressed like the other three. He was standing by one of the windows that faced the street, no doubt watching what was happening outside.

Ichigo himself idly remembered what was currently occurring out there before placing it in the back of his mind. Saving his sisters was his top priority right now.

Both Karin and Yuzu simply watched their older brother anxiously, not saying a word. They had been told not to. And if they did, their brother would be killed instantly.

The Watcher turned from the window to face Ichigo, a calm look on his face. "So," he began, catching Ichigo's attention, "you beat those two up there, did you? Well, it would have been disappointing if you hadn't."

Ichigo frowned. 'So he's the one behind this then….' That was the best possible conclusion that he could come up with. But why?

"What do you want?"

The Watcher closed his eyes. "Interesting question. I doubt that you would understand if I told you. But in order for me to get what I really desire, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to remove you out of the picture."

Ichigo frowned once again. That was just another way of saying that he wanted to kill him. But the question still remained: why? And where was his father now of all times? Taking a slight step forward, Ichigo readied himself to deal with this.

The Watcher, having had opened his eyes to have seen Ichigo's slight movement, shook his head. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you. Unless you have forgotten, we have your sisters."

Ichigo gritted his teeth in anger at the reminder, glancing towards them who were looking straight at him with fear present in their eyes. Just why was this happening? His life was supposed to be calm now, dammit!

The Watcher simply observed the reaction that this had on Ichigo, pleased to know that he had reacted just like The Watcher had hoped he would. "If you don't want anything to happen to them, just come with us."

Ichigo frowned again as he looked at the man in front of him again. "I've heard that plenty of times before. But really, I just now that you'll simply kill them after I come with you."

The Watcher sighed at that. "Yes, I suppose that that would be the 'villain' thing to do, wouldn't it? But don't misunderstand me, boy. I'm only here for you. These girls are of no importance to me. Nor do I have any desire to inflict any harm on them. But if you wish to make things difficult here, then I will not hesitate to hurt them if it helps you to come quietly."

Well, not much choice there. It wasn't like Ichigo could do anything under these circumstances. Either way, there was a possibility of either Karin or Yuzu getting hurt. Maybe even both. He would just have to come quietly.

Sighing, Ichigo relaxed his stance, indicating that he gave himself up.

The Watcher merely signaled for one of his men to cuff him. Things were going down smoothly, just like he had hoped they would. Now if only Violet killed Naruto, then things would really be perfect.

* * *

Violet soon found herself coming face to face with Naruto's Susanoo, a sight which she had only seen when observing the past. It seemed that Naruto wasn't going to go easy on her.

Naruto frowned slightly as he noticed the reaction that Violet had. It wasn't the one that he had expected. Going Susanoo might be considered overkill to some, but Naruto wasn't concerned about that. Nor was he concerned about anyone seeing him for that matter. All that he cared about was putting the purple haired girl in front of him in her place before moving on to do the same with the old bastard.

Violet ran one of her hands through her hair as she continued to admire Naruto's Susanoo. "Not going to go easy on me, are you, darling? Well, I'm not complaining over here. I was dying to see you get serious."

Okay, something was definitely wrong with this girl. In all retrospect, though, Naruto should have realized that since first seeing her in the royal palace in Riyadh.

Violet fired another two shots from both of her pistols in hand which were merely deflected by Naruto's Susanoo, causing her to sigh. Placing both of the pistols within her jacket once more as they were now useless, Violet flicked her hair.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she said with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't going to try and kill me now?"

Naruto sighed. He was going to enjoy putting her in her place all right. His Susanoo soon materialized two more arms and hands, accompanied by an energy sword each as well as the first two original hands.

All four energy swords were brought back by the four hands holding them before they were swung forward towards Violet's position who also stood in front of Ichigo's house, a barrage of dark energy being released as a result.

Seeing this, Violet's eyes glowed for a moment, intent on doing to the attack the same thing which she had done with Naruto's lightning. But before she could do so, wood from beneath the ground soon wrap itself around her legs, catching her attention and preventing her from concentrating.

Naruto smirked. "This is farewell, Violet!"

Violet looked at the incoming energy before sighing. So, she had no choice after all. The energy hit her, causing for a major explosion to occur.

* * *

Inside the house, every person present felt the tremor once the attack had hit. Using their distracted states to his advantage, Ichigo elbowed the man in his gut that stood behind him who had been in the process of cuffing him. Before the other two could react, Ichigo was already on the move. The one standing in front of Karin never saw the punch coming towards his face until it was too late which knocked him back towards the third one who had been standing in front of Yuzu. Both men fell to the ground just like their other comrade.

The Watcher could only sigh as he saw Ichigo run out of the house with both of his sisters in tow. Great. Just when everything was going smoothly, something had to mess it up. Rather, someone. And that someone was Uzumaki Naruto, even if he did so indirectly.

'Looks like I'm going to have to bring them out….' Not that he minded. It was time to play some mind games with the nuisance outside.

* * *

Ichigo reached the front gate of his house, quickly opening it as both Karin and Yuzu ran outside on the clouded street. And by clouded, he meant by a big dust cloud that was currently surrounding the street. It was then that Ichigo remembered the two that had been fighting here before all of this had taken place. Were they the ones responsible for this? Ichigo was almost certain that they were.

As the dust cloud dissipated, they saw something which shocked all three Kurosaki siblings. That was the sight of the silver haired masked individual surrounded in….well, none of them knew what that thing was.

Ichigo felt someone shake his sleeve. Looking towards his right, he saw Yuzu's worried expression. "Onii-chan….what's going on?"

Ichigo frowned as he turned back towards the unforgettable sight. "I don't know…." Despite every fiber of his being telling him to run away with his sisters, something made Ichigo stay rooted in his spot.

Karin simply watched silently, also not comprehending what exactly was taking place in front of her.

Naruto t'ched as he saw that the Violet girl had somehow dodged his attack. No doubt something to do with that time abilities of her. But that should have been impossible. He had made sure to distract her so that she couldn't have had gather the necessary amount of energy for _any _attack. Not only that, but that Ichigo person was now outside too with two other girls. Well, it wasn't like that mattered to him. Not right now. Not under these circumstances.

His train of thoughts seized as he soon sensed an all too familiar chakra from behind him. Turning around, Naruto's eyes widened behind his mask as he saw the last thing that he had expected. And that was Violet covered in red chakra. To be more precise, the chakra of that of a bijuu with one tail present.

"How….."

Violet sighed as the red chakra disappeared. "Now that was something that I wasn't hoping to use…."

"Having difficulties, are you?"

Violet hmph'ed as she looked towards Ichigo's rooted form. "So are you, it seems. I told you to bring more men, but you didn't listen." It had just been a precaution that she had suggested that. With her mixed in there as well, it really would had been overkill.

The Watcher was seen walking calmly towards Violet from within the house, looking intently at Naruto and ignoring what Violet had just said.

"So it seems that we meet again, Uzumaki."

Naruto smirked, putting the other issue aside for now. "What? Not happy to see me? And here I thought that I was your favorite. You really hurt my feelings, you know…."

The Watcher stopped next to Violet, looking at Naruto with a small raised eyebrow. "It seems that you have changed…."

Naruto shrugged. "It's not really a change. I've just been running ever since the destruction of Konoha. I just didn't want to move on. I was scared. And I don't really know why…."

Naruto trailed off before looking at both The Watcher and Violet. "But I must thank you two. If it weren't for you two showing up, who knows how long it would have taken for me to realize that I was being a coward. That I was acting incorrectly. That being said, though, I'm still going to kick both of your asses."

The Watcher hmph'ed at that. "I'm afraid it's not going to be so simple, Uzumaki. Even if you have acknowledged your mistake-"

"You misunderstand," interrupted Naruto. "I'm not talking about not following up with what you wanted. As far as I'm concerned, humanity can rot. I'm not exactly human anymore, or have you forgotten?"

The Watcher didn't respond.

Naruto continued, "What I did in the past….that was all for my selfish gain. Nothing more, nothing less. But now, it's time to move on. And I'll start by eliminating the two of you."

The Watcher was silent before chuckling. "Like I've said, it's not going to be so simple. Even if you have that boy behind you on your side, you're still not going to be able to win this."

Naruto frowned while Ichigo stiffened. Now there was something that Naruto didn't quite understand yet. Just why were they targeting Ichigo anyways?

The Watcher spread out his arms. "All three….it seems that you have finally come together. There's no doubt that this is part someone's plan. But even so, I'm going to come on top."

Naruto snorted as he readied himself to attack. "We'll see about that, you old bastard."

The Watcher looked directly into Naruto's eyes, or where they should be anyways. "It seems that you still don't understand. You can't win. Violet here has already shown you a piece of what I have planned for you."

Naruto frowned. 'That bijuu chakra….' But that was impossible! Every single bijuu had been consumed by the Seikatsugakari ages ago!

The Watcher grinned, something which Naruto had not seen up to now. "Now, number one, why don't you greet your dear old friends?"

Naruto was confused by what he meant until he came face to face with eight familiar faces.

Appearing out of a gap in the fabric of time itself thanks to Violet, the past eight jinchuriki stood in front of both The Watcher and Violet, all with blank looks.

Ichigo and his sisters merely watched on, not fully understanding what had just happened.

Naruto for his part took a step back in utter shock as he gazed at each past jinchuriki that had supposed to have been gone forever. Shock was then replaced by complete anger.

Naruto's Susanoo roared as his chakra flared in anger. "Why you…."

Violet calmly walked to stand in front of the eight jinchuriki, sending Naruto another wink. "Why don't you come and see if they're the real deal, sweetie?"

Ichigo glanced at Naruto's shaking form. Whoever they were, it had just hit the guy hard. Ichigo's hands turned into fists. This wasn't something that he could run away from either. Much like with the business with shinigamis that he had dealt with in the past, it seemed that this was something else that he was now caught in the middle of. He still didn't get why though.

If it weren't for his mask, the world would have seen how enraged Naruto's face was at the moment. Pointing at Violet, Naruto scowled. He didn't fully understand if what he was seeing at the moment was true or not, but it didn't matter. The girl in front of him was dead as far as he was concerned.

"You've just ma**de a terrible mistake..."**

The Watcher merely smirked. It was showtime.

* * *

**Now, before anyone starts spamming me with flames or something saying that the jinchuriki coming back shouldn't be possible and that it is beyond stupid, my answer is just to be patient. What is current happening will be explained thoroughly in due time...like next chapter perhaps. A hint though: not everything is what it seems. That's all I'm saying.**

**Also, I apologize to any Bleach fans if I didn't get Ichigo's or any other character's personality from the manga correctly. I will try to improve if that's the case.**

**That's all I've got. Well, that and that my vacation is over. *sigh* It's time to go back to ordinary life. Nothing I can do about it though. It took me like two hours, maybe less than that, to write this, though, which is a lot shorter than usual. I'm also at the airport right now as I upload this if anyone cares…probably none of you do, but whatever. It's school time again. Updates will be more random for that matter.  
**

**See you whenever.**


	6. The Nine Pillars

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach for that matter.  
"Hmm…."- Black Zetsu**

* * *

**Chapter 5:  
The Nine Pillars**

"How intriguing…."

"Intriguing? You knew that this would happen from the beginning. I don't see how any of this could possibly intrigue you at all, brother."

A chuckle. "You really do give me far too much credit. Yes, I know of every single possible outcome that can occur, but they all have their own free will. They can do whatever it is that they desire. Of course, I have a feeling that that will come back to bite me in the ass at some point."

"You're saying that it hasn't already?"

"Hmm…..good point. At any rate, because of this concept, I have no complete control of what will happen. True, things are going just as I envisioned them. But that doesn't mean that things can't just stir to a random direction of which I have no plan for. Especially with this one. He's that unpredictable. After all, I would have never foreseen that he would take the path that he has up to this point. Of course, that should have had been apparent to me ever since our brother decided to intervene with that little Uchiha and his plans. But all of this just makes things more exciting! Wouldn't you agree?"

A sigh. "We've already had this discussion multiple of times before. You already know that I don't agree with how things are proceeding. If you ask me, you should have killed that fool the moment that he decided to rise up against us. Just like we did with the Juubi."

"And look how that ended up! We mustn't repeat the same mistake again. If we do, we're only doomed to failure, nothing more."

A scoff. "You're starting to sound a lot like one of those humans….."

Another chuckle. "Maybe I am. They can even teach us some things if we pay enough attention, you know."

"Please. You give them far too much credit."

A shrug. "Maybe I do. But you and I both know that there is some truth in my words."

Silence was the response.

"But to the topic at hand, let's just continue to see how things go, ne? Everything is at its crucial point right now. Especially with the little surprise that this girl just unveiled."

"And you didn't know of this before why…..?"

"I just didn't want to spoil the surprise!"

"I swear, that attitude of yours is going to be the downfall of all of us someday. I guarantee it."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But for now, let us just enjoy the show. Aren't I right?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes!"

"…..I'm going to regret this, I just know it…"

* * *

Now, there weren't many things in which a person could do to piss off Naruto. Like, seriously piss him off to the level in which he would just want to destroy every single fiber of your being until it was no more. He just didn't see much reason in getting pissed off at some random person, no matter what they did. After all, he could crush them in a matter of a second, probably less than that if he was really trying. The last person or being that had accomplished that had been his counterpart for a better of thousands of years ago. Since then, no one else had.

But the two individuals in front of him had definitely reached that level. Of that, there was no doubt. They had just done an act which Naruto would not turn a blind eye to, even if he didn't quite understand as to _how_ it was even possible in the first place.

Every single jinchuriki, including Gaara, were back to the land of the living. Or it seemed that way at least. And things aren't always what they appear to be. That was a lesson that Naruto had learn the hard way very early on in his long life. He had trained himself to look into a situation more closely before jumping in. After all, a corporation such as **Uzumaki Inc.** hadn't been built on its own. It had taken hard work for a long number of years. But thankfully he had had Kushina on his side to help him. Despite her brash attitude, the beautiful redhead could be quite the thinker when bothered to. Which was rarely. Of course, it had been that way in the past. But not anymore.

Despite all of this, however, Naruto was in no mood to read into the current situation. Which, if he had been thinking clearly, was clearly a big mistake to do, or not to do. But his anger was overriding his reason, something which happened all too often to almost every single being.

Not only that, but if he had been thinking clearly, he would have realized that he was currently leaking a large amount of his powerful chakra. Anyone, despite he or she not knowing as to what the hell chakra could be in the first place, would be able to sense it and its dark raw feeling that it brought along with it.

Ichigo was a testament to that. The orange haired teen had no idea what was currently taking place, or as to why. His life of the supernatural had supposed to have had been over with after he lost his shinigami powers. And yet, all of this was currently taking place in front of him. Hell, he was even apparently a part of it if what the man in the brown jacket had said.

Not to mention the powerful and dark energy that he currently felt in the air. It was no doubt coming from the masked silver haired individual. But he had no idea as to what the energy could be. Ichigo knew that it wasn't Reiryoku. The dark energy just felt…..different. He couldn't really describe it.

The shaking forms of both of his sisters on both of his sides brought Ichigo back to reality. Looking at them both with a frown, Ichigo realized that he had to get out of here. Whoever these people were, they were powerful. Extremely so. And neither he nor his sisters would stand a chance against them. Despite his wanting to stay to see how things would end, Ichigo took a single step back, grabbing both of his sisters by their hands and ready to run away from this area as far as possible.

He wasn't able to take another step, however, as he felt a set of eyes upon him. Looking towards the direction where the eight individuals had just been brought from, Ichigo met the eyes of the Watcher who was watching him intently, no doubt having sensed what his intentions were. This was clearly a warning to not proceed any more.

Karin glanced at her brother, wondering why they weren't running away just yet. This was no time to be hesitant!

Yuzu merely stood there, frozen in shock as she grabbed hold of her older brother's arm as if her life depended on it.

Naruto didn't pay any attention of any of this. It didn't matter to him in the slightest, not that it had that much from the very beginning either.

Violet had a smirk on her face as she saw all of the power that Naruto was currently radiating. A power that had been suppressed far too much and long in her opinion. With this new hand having been played, it would no doubt be easier for her to use her power to finish this in a matter of seconds. But that wasn't her intention. She still wanted to see with her own eyes what Naruto was capable of.

'They will be the best test subjects for my amusement…..'

An unspoken signal was given as all of the jinchuriki prepared themselves for battle.

The Watcher merely stood back, watching all of this unfold. He would have a lot of complaints for Violet for this later on. But that was for later; this was for now.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw sand gathering around Gaara, no doubt that he had been creating it ever since Violet summoned him. Of course, there was also the gourd still present on his back.

Naruto immediately brought both of his arms forward as Roshi and Han rushed at him.

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

The formal jinchuriki from Iwa were pulled forward in an instant. In response, they both transformed into their bijuu form, level two.

Seeing this, Naruto immediately jumped back. He knew how poisonous and potent that chakra was, even for him. He would no doubt heal, but it would still sting like a bitch, something which he would rather not deal with right now.

His danger senses went off which were proven to be correct a second later as Yugito appeared behind him, her nails elongated due to her chakra. Naruto disappeared in a dark flash in an instant, reappearing right behind her. But before he could attack, a barrage of bubbles rained down on him from above.

Naruto's Susanoo sprung to life at the last second, shielding him from the now exploding bubbles. Looking up, Naruto saw Utakata floating from within a large bubble.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration. 'So they still have their original powers as well as that of their bijuu…..' he concluded as he gazed at the transformed Roshi and Han.

Standing next to the motionless Gaara, Violet let out small giggles. Oh, this was so much fun! If she had known that she would enjoy this as much as she was doing so at the moment, then she would have done this in Riyadh from the beginning!

Naruto readied himself as both Fu and Yagura jumped in front of Roshi and Han, the latter with his staff in hand. Twirling it in his hands, Yagura shot a swirling wave of condensed and sharp water at him.

Naruto's Susanoo brought one of its hands forward, intent on intercepting the attack. The other hand created an energy sword which it used to intercept the approaching forms of both Han and Roshi.

Ichigo could only watch all of this with wide eyes, his sisters currently mirroring his current reaction.

The Susanoo sword sent Han flying back from where he had come from, both Fu and Yagura jumping out of the way as a result. Roshi, on the other hand, managed to dodge the energy blade, heading straight to where Naruto stood from within the Susanoo.

Seeing this, Naruto brought one hand forward, a large wooden wall appearing in front of him which served as a temporary shield from Roshi. Key word being temporary. Roshi tore through it as if it hadn't been there in the first place.

"Son of a-"

Roshi smacked right into the Susanoo, trying to crack it with all his might. But the Susanoo simply held. Too intent on breaking through that Roshi wasn't able to avoid the large dark hand coming behind him which quickly grabbed a hold of his form, throwing him in the same direction that Han had been flown to moments earlier.

Naruto once again gritted his teeth in frustration as both Fu and Yugito stepped up with Yagura coming close behind him. Utakata was still in the air within his giant bubble.

This was getting annoying, plain and simple. They looked like the originals, fought like the originals, and even had the same damn mannerisms! The only thing different were their expressions. Unlike the originals, they possessed dead and empty looks, almost as if they were just walking corpses. But that thought was just stupid. Both body and soul of every jinchuriki save for himself had been consumed by the Seikatsugakari that day. So how in the world…..

'This just doesn't make any damn sense…..'

It was infuriating to say the least.

Violet pouted slightly from her spot next to Gaara. "Come on, Naruto! Don't tell me that this is all that you can do! Or is it just that you're holding back…..?"

Naruto gritted his teeth once more. This girl was really starting to piss him off. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had been pissing him off ever since he confronted her in the hotel in Riyadh. Now it was just simply worse.

Violet smirked, already having found the answer to her question. Of course, she shouldn't have been surprised. In whatever shape or form, the silver haired rinnegan wielder did care about the jinchuriki to some degree.

'Especially this one…..' she thought, glancing at Fu's form. Of course, that had really ticked her off in the beginning, but now the mint haired girl was simply her own puppet. Nothing more than that. So she would call it even.

Looking back at Naruto, Violet let out a grin as she motioned towards Bee who had been standing calmly on her other side during the entire encounter so far.

"Maybe this will get you to become serious….."

Naruto narrowed his eyes immediately as he sensed the emergence of bijuu chakra from within Bee. He could already guess what was going to happen.

And true to what he had been thinking of, Bee transformed into his complete bijuu mode the next moment, towering above all surrounding buildings in the area. If no one had known what had been happening before, they sure did now.

Ichigo immediately stood in front of his sisters, shielding them from the humongous sight in front of them. Just what the hell! Forget warnings, now was really the time to get the hell out of here!

Quickly grabbing a hold of both Karin and Yuzu once more, Ichigo took off running the opposite direction of where the fighting was taking place. His curiosity was killing him, but his sisters came first no matter what.

The Watcher saw this and fought back a sigh. Really, why did this girl just love to turn everything into a huge spectacle? Because of the Hachibi appearing in his true form, the orange haired brat had took off despite the warning that he had sent.

'No matter. I'll just have to catch him.'

Sending a signal to Fu, the Watcher soon disappeared from the area without a trace. As for Fu, the mint haired girl was soon covered in her armor provided by her bijuu. Using her wings, Fu took off flying to the sky, no doubt in order to go after Ichigo.

Seeing this, Naruto made to follow. Not because he cared about Ichigo, something which he didn't really feel at all especially around these circumstances. But because of Fu.

But Violet didn't give him that chance.

Naruto soon found his Susanoo surrounded by the tentacles of the Hachibi, preventing him from moving at all.

Naruto immediately scowled at this. 'I've had enough of this…..'

Even though he hadn't used his true powers in quite some time, he still remembered everything that he could do. It was just a matter of control. But given the circumstances, if blowing up this whole portion of the city meant killing the purple haired girl and the old bastard, then he would gladly do so.

Naruto was quick to disappear in a dark flash only to reappear in another one with him running up on the Hachibi's body. Seeing this, the Hachibi made to grab him only for Naruto to extend both of his hands outward.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

The Hachibi was thrown back by the attack, crashing down on what had once been Ichigo's house.

Violet let out a whistle.

In mid-air, Naruto saw Utakata preparing to attack as well. Not only him, but both Roshi and Han were up and running once more with Roshi now surrounded in his lava armor.

'Persistent bastards…..'

A black sphere soon surrounded Naruto's form which blocked both Utakata's explosive bubbles and Roshi and Han's rushing attack.

Naruto let out a smirk. "Take this!"

Both Roshi and Han were hit with a barrage of mini bijuu bombs.

**"Nezumi Kedama!"**

Naruto soon found himself bombarded by flaming projectiles sent by Yugito from the ground next to Yagura. The black sphere surrounding him, however, deflected the barrage perfectly.

Seeing this, Violet narrowed her eyes slightly. 'That's going to be a problem all right…..'

Naruto sent both Yugito and Yagura their own set of a barrage of the bijuu bombs. Yagura was quick to intercept, however, as he stepped in front of Yugito, spinning his staff again.

**"Suiton: Mizukagami no jutsu!"**

Before his eyes, Naruto saw Yagura create the exact number of bijuu bombs that he had had, each countering the other.

Naruto smirked slightly at this. 'Nice technique…..never thought that you had this up your sleeve, Yagura…..' The smirk disappeared, however, as he remembered Fu. It was no time to get all reminiscing right now. He could do that some other time.

Looking at Violet, Naruto could tell that she was enjoying this greatly. But that just pissed him off even more. There was no doubt in his mind that if he tried teleporting out of here, she would simply freeze time. Although, she had had ample opportunities so far to do this, but she hadn't taken any of them. It stroke Naruto as odd, but he didn't dwell on it. If the only way that he was getting through was going through her, then so be it. He wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much as he normally would have given the circumstances, but it couldn't be helped he guessed. Sacrifices had to be made.

Disappearing in a dark flash, Naruto reappear behind what appeared to be an unsuspecting Violet, piercing her heart with an arm enhanced by his Juubi powers.

* * *

Kushina looked at the city below with a frown. Just what exactly was taking place at the moment? The dark energy that she had felt minutes earlier was no doubt from Naruto. But what exactly had caused him to release it?

Fuka, who was standing on the other side of the large wooden desk with a frown, sighed. "We need to go. Something tells me that Naruto is in trouble right now, and Zetsu is not going to be of much help once he gets there."

'But we haven't fought in years…' thought Kushina grimly. Well, in a _real_ fight. Or what a shinobi would call a real fight anyways. They still practiced basic physical arts with private trainers and gyms, but that was nothing. Nothing to what they could do in their prime.

Sensing all of this, Fuka released another sigh. "You're right in thinking that. But it can't be helped. We have been too lenient, and it seems that it's all finally coming to bite us in the ass."

And Anko had been a victim of their leniency. But that was a mistake that they could no longer fix unfortunately. That was life.

Fuka tilted her head towards the door that led out of the office. "Now come on. I've put a tracking device on Zetsu. We need to help Naruto in whatever mess he's gotten into now."

Kushina smirked slightly. "I take it Zetsu didn't enjoy it?"

Fuka also smirked, glad to see that Kushina was feeling better. Well, good enough to joke around anyways. "No, but it can't be helped. Now come on."

Kushina followed behind her fellow redhead, wondering just what exactly was currently happening. If only she knew what they were about to start.

If only…..

* * *

Ichigo could only scowl to himself as he continued trying to outrun the flying girl currently after him and his sisters. Well, it was mostly him, but there was no way in hell that he was about to leave them alone. The man had said that he didn't want to harm them, but Ichigo was well aware that he would go that far if it meant that it could help him get to Ichigo. Of that, the orange haired teen had no doubt of.

Looking behind him, Ichigo saw the girl speeding up which could mean that she had been holding back this whole time. Not a good thing. He could run faster than he currently was, but his sisters were a different matter. Already, both Karin and Yuzu were panting heavily as they tried to keep up with him, no doubt having had had reached their limits quite a while ago.

They had determination at least.

The wings on Fu's upper back flapped stronger than before, sending her flying at a faster speed than before towards Ichigo.

Having have had sensed this, Ichigo ducked towards the concrete ground, bringing both of his sisters down along with him. This caused for Fu to fly over them, missing them if only slightly. But it was something at least.

Ichigo made to get up again but was held back. Looking behind him, he saw both Karin and Yuzu still panting heavily on the ground, no doubt not being able to continue any longer. It was a miracle that they had made it this far.

Looking upwards to look at the now still Fu in the air, Ichigo gritted his teeth in frustration. There was no way that he could beat this girl. Her powers were too strong…..whatever the hell they were. But that didn't mean that he was going down without a fight.

"It seems that you still retained your physical prowess even after having have had your powers taken away from you. Impressive."

Ichigo immediately turned to where the voice had been coming from which was from a nearby telephone pole. Coming face to face with the man from before, Ichigo narrowed his eyes in anger. Whatever was currently happening, it was because of this guy. That much was clear to him.

The Watcher looked at Ichigo in a calm manner, not at least bothered by the look of anger that was currently emerging on the orange haired teen. After all, the teen in front of him was of no threat to him…..for now at least. That was why they were even here in the first place.

Sending a command to Fu, the Watcher merely stood back in order to at least see _one_ of his objectives be accomplished here today. He was really starting to doubt whether having Violet clash with Naruto was a good idea. But that was of much more importance to him than Violet could ever know.

Ichigo reacted in an instant as a flying Fu came straight towards him. Fuck it. He might not have any powers or special abilities, but they were seriously underestimating him. Like the man had so accurately noticed and stated, Ichigo still had his physical abilities that he could count on. And that was better than having nothing at all.

So instead of cowering like the Watcher had been expecting for him to do so, instead he saw Ichigo running straight towards the incoming Fu, ready to intercept her.

Dodging to the side, Ichigo managed to not get impaled by the now sharp scales that had been produced all along Fu's right arm. Quickly counterattacking, Ichigo grabbed a hold of Fu by her stomach ready to throw her into something, no matter what it was.

Before doing so, however, Ichigo flinched in pain as he felt both of his hands be impaled by the sharp scales that were now present all over Fu's armor. But he wasn't giving up because of some pain.

"It's going to take more than that to bring me down, bitch!"

Ichigo didn't waste another moment. Spinning around, he brought Fu with him, throwing her straight into one of the concrete walls running down the deserted street. Well, for the moment at least.

The Watcher simply watched all of this with a calculating look. The brat was no slouch. He had underestimated him all right. But even so, this wouldn't be enough. Not even close.

Ichigo fell to the ground on his knees, his whole body in pain.

'W-what's happening?' he thought in confusion. His strength was leaving his body.

"Onii-chan!"

Ichigo managed to turn around to see both Karin and Yuzu running towards him, a worried and fearful look on their faces.

"You're through, boy."

Ichigo faced towards the Watcher, both Karin and Yuzu kneeling next to him. Ichigo gritted his teeth as he saw Fu calmly disentangle herself from the debris from the wall that she had been thrown into moments earlier.

Seeing this, Ichigo made to get up only to find that he couldn't. He couldn't move his legs at all. Hell, he couldn't move any part of his body, period!

But of course, the Watcher already knew of this, something which just made all of this that much easier now.

"The moment that you were scratched by her scales, it was over. Huh, especially since you were impaled."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Of course! It had to be the scales! Karin and Yuzu could only kneel there, not knowing what to do at the moment.

The Watcher took a step forward, causing for both Karin and Yuzu to tense, ready to step in between him and their brother. They knew that they couldn't do anything to stop him, but that didn't mean that they were just going to stand by and watch their brother be killed in front of their eyes.

Seeing this, the Watcher chuckled slightly. "Don't worry, children. I don't have to do anything else now. Your brother will be killed in a few minutes, if he's lucky that is."

Both Kurosaki sisters' eyes widened at hearing this. As for Ichigo…..well, he was too weak at the moment to have any reaction to this.

Just as the Watcher was beginning to celebrate his victory, he immediately jumped upwards into the air, the reason being none other than one Uzumaki Kushina appearing right where he had been a second earlier, her sword in hand and extended.

The Watcher t'ched at seeing this before he sensed another presence above him. Looking up, he saw Fuka with her hands together.

**"Suiton: Ja no Kuchi!"**

The Watcher vanished from his spot in mid-air in an instant, lest he be hit with the attack.

Fuka landed on the grounded, panting slightly. 'It seems that my body is not used to performing jutsu…..' Well, it shouldn't really be much of a surprise. While she did have the chakra for it thanks to Naruto, her body was another matter.

Kushina for her part looked at Fu, shock evident all over her face. She was supposed to be dead! Just how was this possible?

Fu looked at her straight back with the same dead and emotionless look that had been present all throughout this encounter. A moment later, she was on the move towards Ichigo's position on the ground who was barely conscious at this point.

Kushina reacted a second later, mustering the fastest speed that she could at the moment. Sensing this, Fu brought her arm in front of her, blocking Kushina's sword strike with her armor.

The redhead gritted her teeth in slight frustration as she saw that her sword couldn't penetrate the armor, even after she added chakra to reinforce it.

'No choice,' she thought. 'I'm going to have to add my affinity to it…..'

But Fu didn't give her the time to do this, however. Kushina felt the air leaving her lungs as Fu sent a powerful kick to her stomach which sent her flying back to the ground.

Fuka was now on the move as well as she saw Kushina being well blocked by the mint haired girl.

Fu, however, had no intentions of sticking around. Or rather, the Watcher didn't. Turning to Ichigo's form who was being blocked by the forms of both a shaking Karin and Yuzu, Fu immediately set her sights on the two girls.

"N-no…." muttered Ichigo weakly as he saw Fu grab both of his sisters who were trying to escape from the mint haired girl's grasp.

"Onii-chan!" screamed Yuzu with fear present in her eyes, something that Karin also shared.

Fu took the skies a moment later, dodging an incoming Fuka who scowled as she stopped in front of Ichigo's form, looking up at the disappearing Fu.

Kushina held the side of her stomach as she too could only look at Fu's fast disappearing form.

They had lost this one, all right, but maybe not entirely so.

Kushina glanced at the down Ichigo who was trying to get himself up, no doubt wanting to go after Fu. He would need to treatment all right. Or else he would be dead. And Kushina already knew what to do.

The sounds of approaching sirens could be heard. It was time to leave.

* * *

Naruto had a twisted grin as he saw his fist impaled straight into Violet's body where her heart should have been. At least he had managed to kill one of the two today. And maybe with luck he could catch up with the old bastard and finish him off too.

The sound of giggling as well as a hand grabbing his mask away from his face broke him away from his 'happy' thoughts.

Violet turned her head to look at Naruto, immediately using his shocked reaction in order to kiss him once again. So surprised he was that Naruto wasn't able to stop Violet from slipping her tongue into his mouth as well, causing for the girl to moan in delight.

Naruto was quick to jump back and away from the now grinning Violet, wondering as to how she was still alive. Forget the damn kiss! He wasn't able to dwell on this, though, as he was soon force to dodge a swipe from Yugito's elongated claws.

Grabbing a hold of one of her wrists, Naruto brought her face in front of his, his rinnegan eyes boring into her dead ones.

Naruto could only frown. This wasn't the Yugito that he had known. This one was dead, while the one that he had come to know had been proud. He had felt that something was off ever since they had first been summoned or whatever it was that Violet had done. Now he knew what.

**"Rendan: Suna Shigure!"**

The black sphere from before erupted into life around Naruto's and Yugito's forms, successfully shielding them from the barrage of sand bullets.

Naruto scowled. It seemed that they didn't care very much if their attacks hit one another as long as they hit him. Red chakra soon engulfed Yugito's form as she transformed into her second bijuu state form.

Naruto disappeared in another dark flash before the now transformed Yugito had the chance of taking his head off.

Appearing in front of the Hachibi's still downed form, Naruto knelt as he assessed his situation, now beginning to think calmly and rationally. It was the only way that he would be able to figure out as to what the hell was currently happening.

Violet tilted her head to the side as she walked to stand next to both Gaara and Yagura. Utakata was still floating in the air with both Yugito and Han currently transformed into their second bijuu state in front of Violet and the other two. Roshi was standing off to the side, his form still covered in his lava armor.

"You've seem to calm down now, haven't you?" commented Violet.

Naruto didn't respond. He was still trying to figure out as to how this girl had survived his attack before it clicked to him. He could only t'ch at this revelation. If she had abilities that were similar to that of Obito's, this would be a great pain in the ass. The only way to defeat her would be to be faster than her or any of the other jinchuriki that were obviously guarding her. And it was speed that he didn't think that he had. If he was like he had been during his time when he was trying to destroy Konoha, then he would have taken care of this much more easily than he currently was.

Violet sighed as she shook her head. "Just stop this already. You can't beat us. More importantly, you can't beat _him_."

Naruto didn't need to be told as to whom _he_ was.

Violet grinned as she extended her hand towards him. "In fact, you can even join us. I'll make sure that he doesn't try to kill you as he currently is. But you have to realize that it's only because of what you have been doing that he's even doing any of this in the first place. Or should I say what you _haven't_ been doing."

Naruto snorted at that. "Do you actually believe that I'll try to waste my efforts in trying to change this race? You and I both know that that is not possible. Although it has been more apparent to me than to you. You only think of yourself as better because of your abilities."

Violet raised an eyebrow at the accusation. "Is that so? What about you then? Don't you share the similar mindset as well?"

Naruto shook his head as he stood up. "No, I don't. I have never thought of myself as better. I knew from the moment that I decided to take vengeance in that village all that time ago that I would be no better than them. But I just simply don't care. I don't care what anyone thinks of me because in the end, it doesn't really matter. That is why I have also given up on this race. Because I have walked down the path that many have, to feel as they feel, that I can say that it will be continuing to happen. The temptation is just that great. And there are no exceptions to this, no matter how powerful you may be. In fact, I can even say that it is those with power that lead this mindset the most because they can actually act upon those feelings rather than someone who's weak and has no power who can only keep it bury deep inside. That is why that those who have power rule over those that don't."

Violet could only shrug. "I agree with you. And you may be right in saying that I think of myself as better because of my power. But so _what_? Who can tell me otherwise? Like you've just said, those with power rule. And I have the power while they don't. Which means that I can rule over them. It's that simple."

She then sighed. "Unfortunately, he doesn't share my mindset. He actually wants to fix this race which is the whole reason that he even gave you the rinnegan in the first place. Hell, it's for the same reason that your father from your former life was able to use chakra in order to free the Juubi millions of years ago!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at hearing this. Now that was interesting all right. But he would file that for later.

Violet spread her arms around, indicating to both herself and the gathered jinchuriki. "We are the ones that will make it happen. We are the support for his plan becoming a success. We are The Nine Pillars!"

Naruto merely stared at her, an unreadable look on his face. Finally he spoke, "I don't really much care what the hell you think you are, or as to why you're even following him when you obviously don't believe in what he does. All I care about is kicking both his and your assess. What you have done….it will not go unanswered."

Violet chuckled. "So do you care for these eight even when you're basically the reason why they died in the first place! Especially for Gaara…weren't you the one that killed him that day?"

"I did," Naruto responded without hesitation. "That's because we had different ideals. Much like I did with him, he tried to change me. Only that he wasn't able to. I've already chosen to go down this path, no matter where it leads me to just as I know that when I finally die, it won't be a happy ending. Not after everything I have done. But I'm not the kind of guy who dwells on that kind of crap. Nothing is going to stop me from killing you, I assure you of that."

Violet narrowed her eyes like a predator would be on a prey. "That's fine with me. I don't mind a challenge. In fact, I would prefer it. I would be extremely boring if you'd make this too easy for me. But just so you know, I _will_ be the one coming up on top. That is the plain truth. That is reality."

Naruto chuckled. "You know something? You remind me a lot of how Neji used to be, thinking that everything is predestined. Well, I don't believe in destiny. One forges through whatever path he or she wants to create for himself or herself. And my path is killing the two of you."

Violet laughed lightly. "It'll be interesting to see you try, darling."

Their conversation was cut off as the sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance.

Violet could only t'ch at hearing this. Their playtime was over it seemed. Looking back at Naruto who looked right back at her, Violet sent him a wink.

"It does seem that we weren't able to finish this like we wanted. Maybe another time."

Naruto growled as he took a step forward. "What do you care? Aren't you going to destroy this current world? A few cops shouldn't scare you off."

Violet ran one of her hands through the strands of her dark purple hair. "Ah, that we are. Unfortunately, there are a great deal of things that need to be taken care of before we can accomplish that. Like that Kurosaki buddy of yours. Until those things have been accomplished, we would rather be in the shadows until we reveal ourselves, something which you must be very familiar with. Am I right?"

Naruto didn't respond.

All the jinchuriki were pulled back into a vortex just like the way in which they had been summoned in including for the giant form of the Hachibi.

Violet sent Naruto one final kiss before she too disappeared, leaving behind one very frustrated being who now had more questions than answers.

Now that just plainly sucked.

* * *

"You really do love disobeying my instructions, don't you?"

Violet rolled her eyes as she sat in one of the leather chairs present inside the room which was basically the Watcher's office. Said office stood on the highest level of the gigantic building which was, ironically, facing straight towards the tower of **Uzumaki Inc.** Of course, unlike the building in which the Uzumakis resided in, theirs wasn't label for secretive purposes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Violet replied in a calm manner.

The Watcher turned his gaze away from the window to look at his 'pupil.' "I know for a fact that all of this could have been avoided if you had just used your ability before he could have sensed you. After all, your masking of your chakra is perfect. It's the whole reason that they hadn't known that you're able to use it before this."

Violet clicked her tongue in annoyance, having have had hoped that the Watcher wouldn't catch that. She should have known better.

It was true, what he was saying. She could have had only used her time ability to stop time in the are before Naruto could have had caught sight of her instead of having done the method that she had performed.

But it had been so fun! Of course, she couldn't tell that to this being. Although Violet suspected that he knew this which brought up the question as to why he was even asking any of this in the first place.

The girl chose to remain quiet.

The Watcher continued to gaze at her for a few moments longer before turning away from her once again, now having had had enough of discussing this topic with her. The girl was simply too stubborn.

Seeing this, Violet relaxed. Something good must have had happened if he was letting her go just like that.

"So," she began, "how did things go in your end?"

"Well enough, I suppose," he replied. "All though they could have had gone better if those Uzumakis hadn't interfere."

Violet raised an eyebrow. "You mean Kushina and that Fuka woman?"

The Watcher nodded. "Yes. But I did manage to obtain something good that will help us retain our lead in this. Or should I say someone."

Realization hit Violet. "The sisters…"

The Watcher simply nodded again. "Indeed. The boy will no doubt come after us after he recovers in order to look for them. And that's where we'll trap them."

Violet sighed. "It would have been better if you had simply killed him right then and there."

"I could say the same to you," retorted the Watcher causing for Violet to flinch slightly at the jab. "I would have, but the Uzumakis interfered. It would be better for me to not reveal my abilities. Well, for the moment at least," he added.

Violet didn't respond.

The Watcher continued to gaze down the city. Now, it was their move.

* * *

Naruto watched silently as both Kushina and Fuka worked on completely removing the bijuu chakra from Ichigo's body by applying chakra absorption seals all over his body. Kushina had done a quick treatment before they had gone on the move to buy them more time as they made for Naruto's beach house. They didn't know why this Ichigo was so important, but they weren't going to risk letting him die until they found out.

**"Things didn't go well it seems."**

"That's an understatement," muttered Naruto.

White Zetsu chuckled. "You guys made the news too. They have no idea as to what caused for the destruction of that residential area. Although there seems to be some witnesses claiming that they saw a giant ox like animal appear out of nowhere. No one believes them, of course."

"I would be surprised if they did," replied the rinnegan wielder.

Black Zetsu looked at him. **"Just what exactly happened? We got there too late to see what actually occurred to lead up to that point."**

Naruto sighed as he looked to the side. "It's…..complicated."

"It always is."

Both Naruto and Zetsu turned towards the approaching redheads who seemed to be extremely tired with Kushina having have had been the one that had just spoken.

The three remaining Uzumaki plus Zetsu situated themselves in the spacious living room of the house.

Fuka looked at Naruto. "Well? Even if it is complicated, we want to know what happened."

Naruto raised up one of his hands. "First things first: is the kid still alive?"

Kushina nodded. "Yeah, he is. We managed to extract the bijuu chakra before it was too late. But of course, that just brings up a lot of many other questions."

"Like how are the other jinchuriki even alive?" continued Fuka. "Or maybe as to how they can even still use their bijuu powers? I thought you said that their souls had been consumed by your sword as well as all of the chakra from every bijuu?"

Naruto sighed. "I know. I thought so as well. But it seems that I was wrong….."

"Maybe you aren't," Kushina replied. "Maybe what you think happened really happened."

Fuka turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. "Then how do you explain what just happened?"

Kushina chuckled sheepishly. "I'm still working on that….."

**"Why don't you just ask that sword of yours?"** said Black Zetsu.

Naruto looked at him. "I was already thinking of doing that after Kushina and Fuka had finished patching Ichigo up."

"We may have a problem though," began Kushina.

Naruto turned towards her. "And what might that be?"

"The boy's sisters were captured," answered Fuka immediately.

Naruto could already see what the problem was. Running a hand through his silver locks, Naruto could sigh in slight frustration. "This just keeps getting better and better….."

"It's not that bad," Kushina commented. "After all, this is only the beginning. We still have a chance of turning this around in the end. We mustn't give up. Not now."

Naruto chuckled. "And here I thought that I was the one that gave the pep-talks around here."

Kushina winked at him. "Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll have ample opportunities of doing just that in the future."

Fuka looked between the two, glad to see that they were starting to behave like before. That was one load off her shoulders at least.

A sad smile came to her face. 'If only you were here, Mito…..and even you, Anko.'

A sad thought indeed.

"All right then," Naruto began as he sat up from the couch that he had been sitting on that was present in the living room, a smirk on his face.

"Let's get this shit started."

There was a roar of approval.

* * *

**Well, I'm back! Yeah, I know. It's been like a month already, but school is really kicking my ass right now. I'll try at least to update once a month if possible. But if it doesn't happen at some point, do understand that my academic and, hell, my social life comes before this. That's not to say that I won't complete this which I will. The only question is of how long it'll take me to do this.**

**At the same time, though, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Not really much else to say. A review will be appreciated. And any questions, feel free to ask.**

**Till next time.**


	7. Two is better than One

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach  
"Hmm…."- Black Zetsu  
**_**"Hmm…."**_**- The Seikatsugakari**

**AN: The reason for the early post of this chapter was that I already had this written already when I went to write this supposed unwritten chapter, or so I thought. Apparently I wrote this at the same time as the previous chapter, but I don't remember why. I was probably planning on doing a double post but I must have forgotten it at the end. Whatever. Here it is now.**

* * *

**Chapter 6:  
Two is better than One  
**

Naruto contemplated his options as he stood calmly in front of a locked door. He was currently at the underground levels running all under the **Uzumaki Inc. **tower. The tunnels throughout the area connected with other tunnels running beneath the beach house that he owned, not that anyone knew that. But one might ask as to why these tunnels were even present in the first place. Answer? For security purposes. No one knew what could happen, especially at the level of power that he and Kushina were in the corporate business. Well, it was mostly for Kushina. After all, his existence to the public was nonexistent. Not only that, but their usage of chakra had been banded with Anko having had been the obvious exception.

But of course, that was half the reason. The other half was for the fact of what he had stored here many years ago. Mainly the Seikatsugakari, the sentient sword that made Naruto have the power that he currently possessed possible. Of course, Naruto hadn't talked with the sword for many, many years. And Naruto knew for a fact that the sword would be bitter about that, not that Naruto could blame it. Hell, he would have felt the same way if he had been in that position.

But there had just been no reason for Naruto to even be in possession of it any longer before any of this happened. It sounded harsh, true, but it was the truth.

Naruto shook his head. 'Great, I'm sounding like a hypocrite now…..'

Mainly that he was thinking in the exact same way in which the villagers would think of him and, well, every other jinchuriki and bijuu in every other village. And being a hypocrite was something that Naruto hoped to never become. He could deal with being called anything else…..okay maybe not _anything_, but certainly not a hypocrite. Even after that he had done, that was a line that he hoped he would never cross.

'Too late for that, though…..'

Well, there was no point in delaying any of this any longer. He had many questions for the sword, questions which the Seikatsugakari would no doubt have trouble answering. Well, not trouble per say. More like not having a single interest in even contemplating the idea of answering them. And once again, Naruto could not blame it. But he would have to find a way to convince it. There was too much at stake here.

Bringing his hands into the ram seal, the door glowed slightly for a moment, signifying that there were seals present within it. Only he or Kushina could be able to access this place. It was identical to the defensive seal system based on the island of Uzu that the Uzumaki clan had maintained for many long years with this one being weaker for obvious reasons. The most obvious would be to the fact that no one in this time could use chakra at all, period. So there really was no need for a complicated defense system as the one in Uzu to be in placed, even if it was around important locations like his tower or his home. But with the arrival of Violet and the realization that she could use chakra, that safeness was now thrown out the window.

But that was something of a future reference. Right now, he had more pressing matters to take care of.

The door parted as Naruto walked through, immediately placing him in a dark chamber-like room. As soon as he took his first step in, the whole chamber was lighted by torches which were similar to those that the Uchiha had had in place inside their compounds.

Resting in a coffin-like structure, the Seikatsugakari merely laid there, having been untouched for a long time.

'It really has been far too long…..'

Walking calmly towards the sword's position, Naruto prepared himself for the denial of the lifetime which was based on legal grounds. After all, like stated before, he had basically abandoned the sentient sword. And for petty reasons too. The second part was the key here.

Silently picking the sword up from its position on the coffin, Naruto soon found himself surrounded in all too familiar darkness the very next moment, one which he had not seen in quite some time. One which he also had missed all this time, if he were honest with himself even if he wasn't entirely sure as to why that was.

_**"So….look at what the cat dragged in….."**_

Naruto didn't respond to the jab, not that there was any need to. Besides, there were more important things that needed to be done rather than to get into an argument with a sword, even if it was alive.

"It sure has been a while, Seikatsugakari."

_**"Hmph. I'm honestly quite surprised that you even remembered my title, Uzumaki. But still, this is quite the surprise. I thought that you never wanted to see me ever again because of what happened that day."**_

And that was it. The real reason as to why he had locked the dark sword up. A stupid reason, perhaps. It was just another reminder to the silver haired rinnegan wielder of how pathetic he had become after he destroyed Konoha. It was just too sad really. But that was the past. And feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to get anyone anywhere, least of all himself.

Naruto sighed. "I know. I've just simply been running away for all these years. I guess that I just didn't want to let go of the past. But now…."

_**"You think that you've changed, is that it? I have to wonder, though, as to what brought this sudden change into fruition? Let me guess…..is it a purple haired girl that has apparently kicked your ass every time that you have clashed with her so far?"**_

Naruto frowned. "How do you know about that?"

Soft chuckles were heard all around Naruto. _**"Despite what you may say or want, you are still my wielder. The second that you took a hold of me was the second that I learned of everything that you've been doing since the last time that we were together. I must say that you have truly become pathetic, Uzumaki. And I'm sure that that red-haired vixen of yours thinks the exact same thing."**_

Naruto smirked lightly as he ran a hand through his silver locks. "Now that's something that we must all agree on. Of course, it's just something that I myself just recently realized. I've been a coward all this time."

_**"And yet you want to kill the very same people that made you realize that. Ironic, is it not?"**_

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But that doesn't concern me. What that old bastard's intentions are….why he gave me these eyes in the first place….I don't give a shit about any of that. I simply want to kill him, plain and simple. That little follower of his is also on that list."

_**"I'm curious as to why that is, though. Even before this Violet girl summoned those old buddies of yours, you've wanted to kill them. Why?"**_

"Because I'm no one's pawn. What I do is because of what I want to do, not because someone is actually pulling the strings behind my back."

_**"Hehehehe. You're going to find that there is always someone pulling the strings, Uzumaki. Haven't I told you this before? Everyone is a tool at the hands of destiny. Destiny always finds a way to use every single piece on the board. You, unfortunately, are not a small piece, though. So it's of no surprise to find you being simply used as well in whatever game that we currently find ourselves in."**_

Naruto growled. "I don't know as to what you're exactly hinting at, but I do know that the whole reason I'm even here is because of my choices. Stupid as some of them may have been, they were still mine. No one has any control over me."

_**"…Unfortunately, you are not at that level yet. If you truly don't wish to be a pawn any longer, you must aim for the top, just like you did before. You must recover that idiotic and insane attitude that you once had. It's the only way for you to have any chance at succeeding."**_

Naruto shrugged his shoulders again. "That's something that no one has to explain to me. But I'll get to that at a later moment. As of right now, I have more pressing matters."

_**"And what exactly makes you think that I'll even consider helping you at this point? You've simply discarded me as a broken tool."**_

Naruto smirked. "Please. The mere fact that we have talked for this long is proof enough. Hell, you could have zapped me with some of your energy if you really didn't want to speak with me. But we both know that, in reality, it is the exact opposite. So why don't we just get right to it, shall we?"

_**"Don't misunderstand me, Uzumaki. I am merely interested by these recent events just as much as you are but for entirely different reasons. I don't care if you actually succeed, not anymore. I merely want to know the real truth of what is currently happening."**_

"And you can learn that by being on my side."

_**"Hahahaha! Do you actually believe that!? It seems to me that you're in the dark once again just like you were in the past. Except that no one will give you any answers this time. Not even the Shinigami. Not to mention your so called 'former self.' Where has he been this whole time by the way?"**_

Interesting question that was. And it was an answer that Naruto just didn't have along with basically everything else that was currently happening. Something which just plainly irritated the hell out of him. And why shouldn't it? Like the sentient sword had so kindly put it, he was basically in the dark again.

"You should already know the answer to that if you've looked through my memories," was Naruto's response. "And you're right. I am in the dark. I don't know a single thing besides a few hints here and there. But I assure you, that will change. Not to mention your status as well. Unlike last time, I won't abandon you or the choices I make."

_**"And you expect me to believe that? I calculate. I prefer hard facts rather than something as abstract as a promise or a vow. Those things are irrelevant to me."**_

Naruto smirked. "Then tell me something. Looking back at how I started, would you have ever imagined me being where I currently am today? That I would have chosen revenge over forgiveness? That I would basically forsake everything that I ever believed in? Not to mention betraying everything that I once built as well."

The Seikatsugakari paused at this, obviously not having had had expected the question. It had a rather simple answer, however, and both Naruto and the sentient sword knew that.

_**"No….."**_

Naruto nodded. "Exactly. Sometimes things like logic and facts aren't enough in the end. Sometimes you just have to bet in lady luck. A high risk gamble, true, but one just can't help it. After all, things don't always go the way that one plans them to be. I'm a prime example of this. I went forward with the plan I had, not knowing or expecting for it to have been just simply part of someone's else scheme at the end, even if I did choose it myself. And finally, when I have found the greatest puppeteer in all of this, I will not stop. I _won't_ let myself be stop. Even if I have to kill the real Kami in order to brake myself from those strings, I'll do it. It's not fate. It's not even reality. Not yet. I'm the one that will make it happen."

_**"…..And how can you be so sure that you won't fail in the end? That you, along with everyone that is following you, won't simply die at the end of all of this?"**_

Naruto could only shrug. "I don't. But that doesn't mean that I won't be willing to try. Someone once told me that if you're handed everything in a silver platter, then you'll never be truly strong. And I agree with her. It's the fact that I don't know whether I'll survive this but keep pushing forward that makes me truly strong. Not the rinnegan. Not the Juubi's power. Not my heritage. At least, that's what I believe. And I don't give a damn if someone else were to think differently. And do you know why?"

Naruto smirked. "Because I'll simply kick their ass."

_**"Oh? Still using force, are you?"**_

Naruto snorted. "I think you're misunderstanding something. I'm not aiming for something like peace, or trying to defend an ideal, or trying to make someone accept those ideals. I only wish to brake myself from the chains that have been put up a long time ago. Humanity…..I don't really much care for it. Not that I very much did so in the beginning either….."

_**"So you're denying your humanity now, are you, Uzumaki Naruto? You're basically trying to ascend yourself into a higher position, to that of a god. Am I right?"**_

Naruto grinned. "You know me too well, it seems. That's exactly it. A god makes the rule. A god is not bounded by anything. Instead, he's the one that binds others. It's that simple."

_**"Your actions contradict your intentions, though. For thousands of years now, you've been doing nothing. Even if you have all that potential in you, all of that raw power, you can't control it. You're the exact opposite of that Violet girl. She has all of that control that you lack. And she even has that raw power as well to back it up."**_

"The bijuu chakra…."

_**"Exactly. It's the whole reason that brought you back here to me in need of assistance again. So tell me, Uzumaki, what is to stop you from simply discarding me again once you have no use for me any longer?"**_

"I've already told you: I'm not changing." Naruto then released a sigh. "Unfortunately, there is still some human in me. That part was what kept me from moving on. I was just simply afraid. Afraid that something of what happened that day could happen to the others that survived that day. But in the end, it was that same fear that took Anko away from us. As bad as it sounds, it was the loss of Anko that woke me up, caused for me to realize the mistake that I had and still was doing. But now that I have acknowledged that mistake, I plan not to make it again. It was that same mistake as well that has made me realize that my human self is just simply a hindrance. It's why I have no control. But like I have said, I know that now. As a result, I plan to rectify that now that I know it. That I assure you."

_**"Oh? And what guarantee do I have?"**_

Naruto smirked again. "I've already told you: sometimes you just gotta take a leap of faith. Reason isn't going to help you here, buddy. We're beyond that point now. But you're still here which means that you're at least considering it. And that's enough for me at the moment. Besides, what do you have to lose?"

The Seikatsugakari was silent, contemplating this new development. Well, it wasn't really contemplating on what to do per say. It wasn't like there was anything else that it had planned. And as far as things went, it would have a front row seat to the next hand of this game or play or whatever someone wanted to call it. Not to mention that the sword could just pump all of the reserve power that it would have in order to kill Naruto so that it at least got something if Naruto did decide to discard it once again. But besides that, the sentient sword was trying to see where the path of following Naruto would lead him to. Success? Or failure?

Many would say failure, but the sword wasn't interested in popular opinion. More often than not, popular belief was simply wrong. There was another issue, however, that was influencing its choice. And that was the fact that it didn't have much energy left. And without energy, it would cease to function. In his formal life, Naruto had made sure that it had had enough reserves to last for several millions of years. But this time, Naruto had not. It had been using the bare minimum all these years in order to stay conscious, but it was nearly depleted. The sword felt extremely weak.

_**'Well,'**_ it mused, _**'in the worst case scenario, I'll simply kill Uzumaki if he does become an empty shell again or we'll both be destroyed by the hands of this…..entity.'**_

Either way, it seemed better than just laying in this dark, empty room to the sword. The sword preferred death over boredom, not that anyone could blame it after just simply being stuck in the dark chamber for who knew how long. The sword had lost count already.

_**"You have my support, Uzumaki….for now that is. Make no mistake, though, that if you choose to abandon me again, I will kill you. And you can't hide it from me either. Your thoughts will be mine as well."**_

Naruto grinned. "Believe me, I have no intention of doing that. Besides, I'll need a cool sword at my side with what I'm planning on doing."

The Seikatsugakari didn't respond.

The grin on Naruto's face fell the next moment. Well, part one was complete which was basically to get the soul taker to agree to join him once again. Part two, however, was the one that interested Naruto more in a sense.

_**"I see that you have many questions for me….."**_

Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest. "That's an understatement. If you've seen my recent memories, then you must know what my pressing concerns are."

_**"Ah, that I do. Mainly the revival of your fellow jinchuriki along with their respective bijuu including the Kyuubi."**_

Naruto merely nodded. "Exactly. What I want to know is as to _how_ this is even possible. You told me that you devoured all of their souls that day, meaning that it would have been impossible to revive them ever again, even with the contract with the Shinigami that I had at that time. Not to mention that you also absorbed every single part of all of the bijuu's chakra in order for you to absorb the Juubi's will and soul. So how is it that this has happened? Or is it that you just lied to me that day?"

_**"Hehehehe. You would prefer for that to be the real truth behind this, don't you? That I simply lied to you? But you know somewhere deep in your cold heart that that is not the case. Far from it. But to put it bluntly: no, I did not lie to you. What I told you was the truth. In normal circumstances, the jinchuriki should have been gone forever along with those bijuu. Well, unless you decided to split your power up again, but that's an entirely different matter."**_

"Get to the point already, would you?"

_**"What I'm basically saying is that not even I know how this is possible. From all the knowledge that I have, the jinchuriki are dead. And so are the bijuu."**_

Naruto frowned. "That's not what I just saw….."

_**"Please. I thought that you would have learned by now not to believe everything you see. There is always something hidden in the shadows. Of course, neither you nor I know what that is just yet. But we do know one thing: somehow, this entity got his hands on the power of the bijuus and also resurrected the jinchuriki somehow as well as implanting within them the power of their bijuu as well. Although, it seems that this Violet girl has the power that you once had."**_

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Kurama….."

_**"Exactly. Even though I don't know how, that is the chakra from the Kyuubi that she has in her possession. I would know since I consumed it, after all. The rest of the jinchuriki have their respective ones as well."**_

Naruto growled. "So what you're saying is that Kurama, along with all of the other bijuu, are trap within Violet and the rest?"

_**"Hmm….now that's a complicated answer. Is there perhaps a Kyuubi within this Violet's subconscious? Highly likely. Is it the same Kyuubi that you once knew?….highly unlikely."**_

"I see your point….."

_**"Good. But without any additional information, we can't discern as to how any of this has occurred. So for now, we are still in the dark."**_

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I was kind of expecting for you to say that…."

_**"There's nothing that can be done about this except to get a move on. We need to be a move ahead of our enemies from now on. They have been playing you from the beginning. I'm sure that you'll figure out a way to rectify that."**_

Naruto chuckled as he turned the other way, throwing a wave behind him.

"That I do. It's our turn now."

* * *

Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself back in the chamber. Looking at the sword in his hands, Naruto placed it at his side as he began to walk towards the exit. There was much planning to be done. But first came the Ichigo boy. Naruto still needed to figure out as to what the deal was with the guy. Just what was so interesting about him?

Zetsu emerged from the ground in front of the door as silent as usual.

Naruto stopped in front of the spy. "What is it?"

**"The Kurosaki boy has yet to awaken. Fuka is keeping an eye on him for now in case he does. After all, we don't want him running off once he finds himself in an unfamiliar environment."**

Naruto nodded. "And Kushina?"

White Zetsu looked uncertain. "That…we don't know. She said something about taking care of some personal business…..whatever that means."

"I see….."

Walking around Zetsu, Naruto once more headed towards the exit, intent on finding Kushina.

Black Zetsu turned towards him. **"What do you want us to do for now?"**

Naruto stopped on his tracks. A few moments later, he answered, "Do what you do best and what we intensively need at the moment." Naruto looked back at him with a calm look. "Gather information."

White Zetsu grinned. "We're on it."

Naruto resumed on his way out of the chamber.

* * *

One Uzumaki Kushina sighed calmly as she stared at the computer screen in front of her. Currently we find the female redhead in the designated control room of their operations. It was basically one of the many hidden rooms within the **Uzumaki Inc. **tower which contained the best possible technology that this era had to offer.

But what mattered to her the most was at what she was starring at in front of her. It was a message. Mainly a message from the now deceased Anko. Really, Kushina should have expected this. Within the line of work that Anko had done, taking precautions was second nature. But with everything that had been taking place, it had completely slipped her mind.

'As well as Fuka's….'

Shaking her head, Kushina was about to close the laptop until another message popped up on her screen. But this one was a request. A live video request.

Kushina frowned. Not many people had the necessary access to reach her in this location. So who in the world…..

"Main screen…..now."

Spinning around on the chair that she was currently sitting on, Kushina let out a squeal in surprise at seeing a calm looking Naruto standing before her.

"When did you-"

"Later."

Kushina had no time to ask him again as the request was accepted through the main screen which hung at the center of one of the far walls.

A second later, a man appeared on it. The man had jet black hair which stopped closed to his shoulders and dark blue eyes. His age was close to that of early twenties, mid twenties at the oldest. He could only be seen wearing a black dress shirt similar to the Naruto's navy blue one as well as a necklace of a fang that hung around his neck.

Naruto crossed his arms. "Who the hell are you?"

The man chuckled as a cigarette appeared in his hands which he lighted instantly.

Placing it in his mouth, amusement was clearly present in his eyes. "Straight to the point, are you? Well, Anko did say you were like that."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You still haven't answered my question."

The man sighed as he flicked the cigarette away, making both Naruto and Kushina wonder as to why he had even bothered to light it in the first place.

"You can call me Ken. And before you ask, no, I'm not your enemy. Well, I'm not exactly your ally either but circumstances have made us work together."

Kushina stood up from her seat, narrowing her eyes as she did so. "Oh? And what circumstances are those?"

Ken snorted. "Please. Your little group has caused a major shit storm across the whole world. And you must know as to what I'm talking about."

Naruto frowned. "You're talking about Saudi Arabia."

Ken nodded as he leaned back on his own chair. "Exactly. Now, I don't know exactly what you were expecting to happen, but the United States is currently being blamed for everything. Well, no one can blame the other countries for pointing their fingers at us, since all the evidence already does that."

Realization hit Kushina. "You're from the CIA…."

Ken smirked. "Ah, that I am. I'm one of the best agents that it has, if I do say so myself." The smirk then disappeared. "Or should I say, I _was._"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And what do you mean by that?"

Ken sighed. "First, let me tell you that I already know what you guys can do, mainly that 'chakra' power that you all wield."

Both Naruto's and Kushina's eyes widened at this.

Ken continued, "If you haven't realized this, Anko told me. Now as to why she did….I would rather keep that between me and her. But the point is that I have known about what you guys were up to when you decided to head to Riyadh."

"Then you must know that we aren't the ones that caused that incident," Kushina retorted.

Ken shrugged. "I don't really see a difference between you or them. They have powers and so do you. But my opinion about you is irrelevant. As I'm sure you know, Anko controlled the CIA. Hell, she had a strong grip on the American government as a whole."

Like Ken had said, both Naruto and Kushina knew of this already. After all, Anko had told them as to how she had accomplished this.

Ken ran a hand through his hair. "Anko explained to me how once you die, your chakra also stops….working as well, if that's the right word."

Naruto t'ched. "So the clones that Anko had in place, the genjutsus….they all disappeared. Is that what you're trying to say?"

Ken nodded. "Yeah. Once that happened, I knew that she was dead…." he finished quietly.

Kushina narrowed her eyes. It seemed that something had happened between Anko and this Ken. Of course, that should have been obvious the moment that he had said that he knew about them and what they truly were. But the question was: what? What had happened between them? And why hadn't Anko told them about this person?

"Once everyone caught sight of this as well as the 'director' suddenly vanishing in a puff of smoke, it brought the whole country into disarray. As of now, the CIA is no more."

Naruto could only scowl as he processed this information. They had been so caught up in dealing with Violet and her master that they had completely disregarded what the aftermath of Anko's death would bring.

"So I'm guessing that Anko told you to contact us if this ever happened?" Kushina said with a small frown tugging her lips.

Ken nodded. "Precisely. Now, I don't trust you. Hell, I'm not even sure that I even _like_ you. But I owe Anko big time. She knew that with her gone, you guys would lose a major intelligence gathering." He paused for a moment before adding, "Well, I'm here to fill that void."

"And how would you do this?" Naruto questioned. "As you have said, the CIA is no more."

Ken grinned. "Ah, that I did. But I've been simply transferred. Like I've said, I was one of the CIA's best. America needs me, especially at this moment."

"I see…."

Kushina glanced at Naruto before looking at Ken in the screen. "What's the status on that, by the way? Is war apparent?"

Ken snorted. "War is the least of concerns for us. The problem is whether or not the Arabs will shoot their damn missiles at us. That's what we're trying to avoid. Of course, the other nations are siding with them at the moment. So if war does break out at the end, we're all alone."

'Which is exactly what that bastard wants,' thought Naruto in anger. Well, this certainly put them in a disadvantage. Hell, it wasn't as if they didn't have enough disadvantages to begin with!

Kushina sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "And here I thought that we would have had more time to prepare for this…."

Ken threw a bored glance to the side. "Yeah, well, that's how these things go. But to the original point that I was getting at: I'm on your side….for now at least. But like I've said: don't consider me as one of you. I'm only doing this because Anko instructed me in case something happened to her. I'm taking enough risks by contacting you."

Kushina shrugged. "This is still helpful. More than you can realize….."

Ken waved his hands in dismissal. "To be honest with you, I really don't give a crap about any of this. Or any of you for that matter. If it weren't for Anko, I would have retired after the CIA collapsed at the age of twenty-four. Hell, I'm pretty sure that this country doesn't have that long to last."

Naruto grinned slightly. "Believe me: you're more like us than you realize. But once again, this is still all helpful. Whatever you give us will be extremely helpful. Especially in our current predicaments. We will send you the files of the people that we will need for you to look into immediately."

Ken didn't respond. Instead, he simply gave a mock solute before shutting off on his end. He had said all that he had wanted to, which was all that he would do, mainly being the bare minimum.

Kushina looked at Naruto. "Well that was interesting. Who would have thought that Anko would have something like this planned? Better yet, why didn't she ever tell us?"

Naruto closed his eyes, having an idea as to why but not wanting to hurt Kushina's feelings. After living as long as they had and being the only ones that truly knew each other for what they were, it was no surprise that they basically became a family. Albeit, a small one but still a family. So if one member of that small family turned her back on it, it would deeply hurt the others.

Naruto took hold of Kushina's hands with his own, causing for the redhead to look at him in the eyes. "Don't worry about it now. We still have a lot to do. And I'm going to need you."

Despite herself, a small blush appeared on Kushina's face.

Turning towards the elevator that lead to the main levels of the tower, Naruto guided Kushina along with said redhead stating at his back.

The old Naruto was really coming back. And more than that, he was learning more control.

'Which is why I couldn't sense him…..'

A small step, but it was a step nonetheless.

A smile formed itself on the redhead's face. Maybe all of this wasn't so bad after all. It brought her back the Naruto that she fell in love with at least.

* * *

Fuka sat quietly in one of the chairs present within the room where Ichigo was currently recuperating in Naruto's beach house. It had been a couple of hours since she, alongside Kushina, had managed to retrieve the bijuu chakra that Fu had obviously placed inside of Ichigo's body.

The teenager was a tough son of a gun, Fuka had to admit. Most people would have died a few seconds, a minute at best, after having had had been exposed to the toxic chakra. Well, the people of this age at least. But not this boy. Something which peaked Fuka's interest greatly. Maybe it tied as to why The Watch was so interested in him in the first place?

Fuka had a feeling in her gut that she was close to the truth. Unfortunately, she still didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle in this, a fact which irritated the hell out of her.

She was becoming less and less patient, she had to admit to herself. But she didn't much care. She just wanted to see girl along with the old bastard at the bottom of her feet, begging for mercy before she killed them both. A bit sadistic, true, but once again she didn't care.

A groan broke the female Uzumaki out of her thoughts. Turning towards Ichigo's form, she saw the orange haired teen slowly rising into a sitting position, one of his hands on his head as he groaned for a second time.

Well, he certainly woke up earlier than expected. It seemed that this boy was full of surprises.

Ichigo held his head in pain as his vision started to clear, immediately recognizing that he was most certainly _not _in his room. But where the hell was he then?

"You're finally awake, eh?"

Immediately turning towards where the very feminine like voice came from, an act which just brought another wave of pain to his head which he ignored for the moment, Ichigo saw one of the hottest redheads that he had ever seen. Well, not that he had seen too many redheads in his lifetime either, but that was beside the point.

Fuka raised a small eyebrow as she saw a small blush appear on Ichigo's cheek. Well, she certainly worked fast all right.

Ichigo shook his head to clear his thoughts, making another wave of pain hit his head. Groaning once more as he held his head, Ichigo looked at the redhead for a second time with no blush present.

"Where am I?"

Fuka crossed her arms under her bust as she looked at him. "Safe. Which is more than what I can say about your sisters." To hell with being subtle. Fuka wanted to know what was so special about this boy, and she wanted that information now.

Ichigo's eyes widened as his brain finally recalled what had just happened to him a few hours prior. But more importantly, what had happened to his sisters.

Scowling, the orange haired teen made to get out of the bed in order to….well, just basically go on a manhunt to find his sisters. Of course, he didn't know where to start this search, but that thought had not crossed his mind at this point.

Seeing this, Fuka was in front of him the very next moment, a hand on his shoulder which she used to push him back down on the bed.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Ichigo frowned at the woman. He could already tell that his body was in no condition for a physical confrontation. Although something told him that even if he was, he still wouldn't win against this woman. Well, not without his powers that was.

Fuka raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Where do you think I'm going?" he responded through gritted teeth. He was just wasting time, time which he could be using to find his kidnapped siblings. But once again, the thought of how to accomplish this had still not presented itself on the teen's mind.

But it didn't have to. Fuka did it herself. "And just how exactly do you plan on finding them? Do you know who took them? Or for what reason? More importantly, though, do you even know as to where they're being detained?"

Ichigo could only frown. Well…..that certainly put a halt to his thoughts on rescuing Karin and Yuzu. For the moment at least.

Taking a notice of this, Fuka retracted her hand as she stepped back a few steps. "Now, I understand why you would just want to rush out there right now. Hell, if I was in your position, I probably would have done the same thing. But since I know just how stupid doing that actually is, I'm going to stop you from doing it."

Ichigo merely turned his gaze the opposite direction, his hands turning into fists in front of him. This was all just too crazy. A day ago, hell a few hours ago, his life was how it was supposed to be: normal! And yet, everything went down the drain in a matter of minutes. Life really was a bitch. Well, to him at least.

The door standing a few feet away from his bed was opened with another hot redhead and a familiar individual walking in a moment later.

"It seems that you're finally awake." It was Kushina that said this as pleasantly as she could, but with what she and Naruto had just learned, being pleasant was quite difficult.

But Ichigo wasn't paying any attention to her. Instead, he immediately pointed at Naruto with wide eyes. "You!"

Said 'you' raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"You're involved in this!?"

Naruto chuckled. "More than you realize….."

Ichigo's surprised look turned into that of slight anger. "So are you the one responsible for-"

Seeing where he was going, Naruto cut him off. "No, I'm not." He then paused, thinking about his answer a bit more. "Well, if you're wondering if I'm responsible for the fight that took place, then yes. But only partially. Now if you're wondering if I'm responsible for what happened to your sisters? Then the answer is no, plain and simple."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "And how am I suppose to believe that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Easy. You're still alive. I'm sure that you must know that the whole reason those guys showed up was to kill you."

Ichigo closed his eyes as he released a sigh, contemplating his current situation. So he was basically at the mercy of a group of people that he knew nothing of, save for the silver haired individual. But even then, it wasn't anything really. This day just kept getting better and better.

"Now," began Kushina, bringing Ichigo's attention to her, "you mind telling us as to why those people want you dead in the first place?"

Ichigo shot her an annoyed look. "Do you really think that I would know that? If I did, I wouldn't be here right now."

Fuka hummed in contemplation. "So….you have no secrets is what you're saying. Am I correct?"

Ichigo averted his gaze from everyone else currently present who took this as a sign that he most certainly was hiding something.

Naruto grinned slightly. Maybe this tied with the boy's unnatural physical prowess. No, he was one hundred percent that it did. But if he knew what exactly…..

Kushina took care of the predicament herself, however. "You must have realized by now that we're not your enemy. If we were, we would have simply let you die as you soon would have had we not removed the….intoxicated substance from your body."

The redhead paused, letting her words sink in before continuing. "However, you must also know that we don't very much care for you. The only reason that we even helped you in the first place is that you are apparently tied with the current problem that we are facing. A very big part, if I had to guess. But the point still stands that we helped you. Now, you owe us. Not only that, but I'm positive that you won't be able to find your sisters without our assistance."

Ichigo wasn't so certain of that last part. He was pretty sure that his father would find a way. No doubt that the geezer must have seen what had happened to their house. He must be looking for them no doubt. But at the moment, Ichigo knew that he was at their mercy.

Running a hand through his hair, Ichigo released a sigh. Well, no point in keeping it a secret. He might not know these people, but they hadn't tried to deceive him just yet, Kushina having had proven that to him. While it wasn't much, it was something.

Looking at them, Ichigo decided to just come out with it. "I don't know why they're looking for me, nor do I wish to know. But I think that maybe the reason that they're even after me ties with what I once had in the past…."

Naruto leaned forward slightly, becoming even more curious now. "Which was?"

Ichigo looked directly at him. "I was a shinigami."

Of all the answers that Naruto was expecting, that certainly was not the one. But really, who could have blame him?….okay, maybe someone could. After all, after everything that he had seen so far, was this answer really that farfetched?

Fuka didn't share his optimistic opinion, however, as it was made evident by her huffing in an annoyed manner. "Do you really think that we'll believe something like that?"

Ichigo shot her an annoyed glance. "Not really. But apparently I have to be honest here if I even want a remote chance at seeing my sisters alive in the future. I'm not the only one that should be saying that, though." Looking at Naruto, Ichigo had connected the dots already. After all, just how many people possessed silver colored hair? No doubt that the person in front of him was the masked individual that had been fighting against that girl and…whatever those things had been.

Naruto smirked. "Ah, I guess you're right about that." His smirk fell a second later. "But you might want to explain in more details as to how you were a…..shinigami in the past. Right now, any relevant information, no matter how small, will be useful. But it seems that this is not. It's a major part of what is currently happening."

'You don't have to tell me twice…' Ichigo thought.

Well, it was explanation time.

* * *

Black Zetsu wasn't much for talking, something which ran the complete opposite for his counterpart. He didn't really know why he was like this, just that he was. Unless something was required of him or interested him, he would basically keep his mouth shut. With this present, his patience was extremely high, higher than any other being in existence perhaps. But being stuck with a being that had to be talking every few seconds about random things, even his patience eventually ran out.

**"You do realize what we're trying to accomplish, don't you?"** Black Zetsu said, stopping White Zetsu mid-way on his plant fertilizer rant. Black Zetsu wasn't entirely sure as to why his counterpart had even been talking about something like that, but he didn't really much care either.

White Zetsu shot his 'partner' a grin. Currently they were at the scene of the crime so to speak where Naruto had fought against Violet and the jinchuriki. It was now nightfall, with the police having had left the area about an hour before.

"Hai, hai. We're trying to see if we can find any trace of Violet's chakra or any of the jinchuriki's or the bijuu's."

**"Exactly. A task which requires silence. Do you understand that?"**

White Zetsu gave his counterpart a bewildered look. "Eh? Since when?"

**"Since I said so."**

White Zetsu merely grinned again, finally understanding that Black Zetsu was just in one of his 'moods,' similar to that that one of the human females would have every month. Of course if Black Zetsu knew that he was thinking of this, he would kill him. But since he didn't, White Zetsu continued to enjoy the thought. Why? Well…..who knew?

Before the highly unusual duo could continue with their banter, they soon found a sword pointed at their connected neck, the owner of the sword being a man with spiky black hair and brown eyes dressed in black robes.

Despite the situation, White Zetsu continued to grin. "Well, isn't this surprising."

Unlike his counterpart, Black Zetsu was analyzing the situation. Something felt….odd about this individual. But no matter what he did, he couldn't very well place what it was. But one thing was sure: we wasn't a regular human, if he even was human to begin with.

"Where are my children?"

**'Interesting…..'**

White Zetsu had a different take on this. "Oi, oi! I know we look fishy, but we ain't no pedophiles! That's Orochimaru's trademark, not ours!"

If he could, Black Zetsu would have walked away right then and there.

The man's eyebrows twitched slightly at this, no doubt not having have had expected this answer. Hell, he didn't even know what they were even talking about. But this was as intriguing to him as it was to them, especially their appearance.

**"Are you by any chance Kurosaki Ichigo's father?"** Black Zetsu was quick to get to the point, especially since he just wanted to get away from White Zetsu as far as possible as well as soon as he could.

At the name, the man perked up. "Yes, I am."

Well, this just made things easier. And perhaps this could help them figure out the mystery surrounding the orange haired teen.

Black Zetsu looked at him impassively.

**"In that case, you should come with us, Kurosaki."**

* * *

In all of his years of living, Naruto would have never expected to once again be pulled into anymore complicated crap. Well, it wasn't like he didn't want it. But life had just become too boring…..in his mind at least. But that was beside the point at the moment.

After Ichigo had finished telling the three Uzumaki his tale, silence rained supreme, something which was to be expected. After all, it's not everyday that one hears of everything that had happen in his own backyard without him knowing of it.

Naruto could only sigh at this. 'Really, how did we miss all of this?'

Seriously. Evil souls with powers, good souls with power, a soul society…..and apparently that was just the tip of the iceberg. It seemed that the Shinigami's world was more complicated than Naruto had thought. Wait, if he remembered correctly, the Shinigami's world was called 'Soul Society'…..or something along those lines anyway.

Fuka looked at Ichigo with a shocked look. "Is all of this real?" she asked, breaking the silence.

Ichigo simply nodded, not really believing that they would actually accept anything that he had said. Hell, unless he had lived through it, he was sure that he wouldn't have believed it if someone else told him about it. And such was life.

Kushina rubbed her forehead, feeling another headache coming. First it was the revelation of Anko and this Ken, and now it was this. Really, karma was a big bitch.

Ichigo looked at them. "Well? Do you believe me or not?"

Naruto sighed. "It's not like we _don't_ have a reason to trust you. And anyways, even if you were trying to lie to us, I'm pretty sure that you would have come up with something more believable than shinigamis and the sort." Well, believable in this day and age at any rate. In the shinobi world, this would have been a bit odd, but not completely ridiculed either.

Ichigo looked at him incredulously. "That's it? Just like that?"

Naruto had a feral grin plastered on his face. "Yeah, just like that. After all, you said it so yourself. We aren't exactly 'normal' either. Or have you forgotten what you saw earlier today?"

Ichigo gave a sideways glance to no one or nothing in particular. "Good point…."

Kushina stirred the conversation right back on track. "So, you said that lost your powers after you defeated this….Aizen fellow. Am I correct?"

Ichigo nodded.

Kushina sighed impatiently. "If that's the case, then you're just a regular human now. Why would they target someone like you if you have nothing special?" The redhead then blinked, realizing what she had just said. Looking at the teen with a sheepish smile, she quickly apologized. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it," interrupted Ichigo with a wave of his hand. "After all, what you've just said is true." Looking down at his hands, the teen sighed. "I'm no one special now. My life was supposed to have been quiet and normal. And then this happens to me." He then chuckled bitterly. "Actually, I could handle it with just me having gotten involved. Not Karin and Yuzu. But of course, it seems that's too much to wish for."

Naruto looked at Ichigo quietly as if measuring him.

Fuka for her part simply looked on silently before making her way out of the room.

Kushina looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Where are you going-"

"To get some fresh air."

Not awaiting for a response, Fuka opened the door and quickly walked out, closing it behind her.

Looking at the door, Ichigo pointed at the direction to where Fuka had just walked out. "Did I do something to piss her off or what?"

Kushina sighed. "It's not you. We've just recently lost someone close to us is all. And it hit her hard….."

Ichigo closed his eyes at hearing that.

"What are you going to do now?"

Opening them, Ichigo looked at Naruto who had just spoken.

"Do you really need to ask?" Ichigo said with some sarcasm. "I wasn't really expecting for any of you to believe me. Even without your help, I will find them."

"But you're weak," Naruto retorted without any hesitation. "Yes, you've got the physical abilities, but that will only take you so far. Especially with this bunch. You saw my fight, didn't you?"

Ichigo frowned but didn't respond.

Naruto continued, "In all honesty, though, I shouldn't really be lecturing you for I'm also weak. In all my encounters with that girl, she's always had the upper hand. But I'm also weak for many other reasons which I don't really feel like divulging to you. We have common enemies, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Extending his hand as he walked to stand next to the bed, Naruto looked at Ichigo straight in the eyes. "He has your sisters who you no doubt want to save. That's honorable. Me? I don't have such a reason. I'm doing it mostly for revenge as well as that I just want to kick that bastard's ass. But it looks like we're going to need each other's help to accomplish this. I'm sure that you won't mind if it helps you to save both of your sisters in the end."

Glancing at the offered hand, Ichigo looked at Naruto straight in the eyes as well, trying to find any signs of deceit and the sort. But he didn't. It seemed that he really just wanted to kill that man whoever he was. Well, in all honesty, it didn't really concern him. Whatever the problem between the two was, it was between the two of them. His priority now were his sisters.

Coming to a decision, Ichigo took Naruto's hand, making Naruto smirk.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. It's a pleasure, Kurosaki Ichigo."

* * *

On the other side of the world, one individual now identified simply as Ken was shaking his head in annoyance as he made his way through the private wing of the airport in Washington D.C.

Really, this was all just too annoying. He had more important things to deal with than to escort some VIP through the city and then to the White House. For example, he should have been looking up The Watch Corporation that the Uzumakis in Japan had sent him a file on last night.

It really didn't surprise Ken that a corporation such as The Watch was involved in something like this. Most big time corporations like that were usually involved in illegal business behind the scenes. It was just how the world ran nowadays. Although, the former CIA agent suspected that things have always been like this, no matter in what period of time one was talking about. It was just simply human nature to be greedy it seemed.

Hearing his phone vibrate within his coat pocket, Ken reached for it. Answering the call, he said, "What is it?"

Pausing mid-step as he was finally informed as to who he was supposed to be escorting, Ken grinned. "I see. Alright. Don't worry. I'll take good care of him."

Putting his phone back within his coat, Ken resisted the urge to laugh out loud as he made towards the roadway to where the private flights landed. He hadn't been entirely sure as to why he hadn't been informed beforehand as to just who exactly the VIP was, but now he understood as well as to why it was only him that had been assigned this. Mainly, it was to be kept a secret from the rest of the world.

'Really, we must be in deep shit to call him for help. But then again, this plays to my advantage in the end.'

Finally arriving at the gate to where the passengers of this particular flight were to go through, Ken leaned against one of the walls.

'It seems that keeping my promise to you will be a lot easier than I thought, Anko…..'

Thinking of the now dead woman brought great pain to the man, not that he showed it. In his line of work, there was no time to show weakness. Because if he did, he would die. It was that simple.

Shaking those thoughts away as he saw the approaching forms of those that he had been awaiting for, Ken retracted himself from the wall and walked forward in order to greet his assignment. But this is where his _real_ mission began. And the safety of this man wasn't the top priority of that mission.

Placing the best smile that he could, Ken greeted the man as well as the two individuals standing behind him. "Welcome to America, Chairman. I hope your flight went well?"

The Chairman aka the Watcher simply nodded. Now dressed in a fine suit, he answered, "Yes. Thankfully it was. But enough of the pleasantries. I'm sure there's a lot of business to be done in the capitol. Am I right?"

Ken nodded. "Of course. But the President has requested your audience in the White House beforehand. So if you please….." Stepping to the side as he allowed for the Chairman and his two followers to walk towards the exit of the airport, Ken simply let his eyes wonder.

Following behind them, Ken took in the forms of the two people accompanying the Chairman. One was a strikingly beautiful blonde woman with dark colored eyes and a great body, even through the pant suit that she was wearing. The other was a tall, thin man with what appeared to be a pair of pale golden eyes and brown hair. One of a kind features, that was for sure.

Not having a single idea as to who they were or as to why they were even here in the first place, Ken simply decided to just do what was required of his official 'job.' The sooner he did, the sooner that he could be in peace with no one to bother him. If he had had the choice, he would have never had accepted the job as one of the President's handpicked agents. It was just too troublesome. But Anko held him back with rejecting the offer.

Ken mentally smirked. 'In the end, it seems that I really was whipped…..'

The trip to the private garage was made in silence. Making sure that they were secured within the car, Ken situated himself in the driver's seat, instantly turning the car on and driving out of the garage.

The destination now being none other than the White House.

* * *

**Post AN: Well….I'm shocked right now. To be completely honest, I had not been expecting that the Juubi's final form would be a tree or that you would have some sort of chakra fruit like you would have in One Piece or that a woman was the one that fucked everything up apparently.**

**Meh, that's Kishimoto with his curveballs I guess.**

**On an entirely different note, I just have to say that I will be finishing this story, no matter what anyone says or how popular it is. From the moment that I posted the first chapter, I committed myself to that. I really do dislike when an author starts something and doesn't finish it. I don't want to be like that. The only thing in question here is simply how long that's going to take me. So for those few that actually like this sequel, don't worry about me not finishing this because I will. That's all.**

**Until next time.**


	8. Stepping Up

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Naruto or Bleach  
"Hmm…."- Black Zetsu, Letter  
**_**"Hmm…."**_**- Seikatsugakari  
**_"Hmm…"_**- Flashback/Memory**

* * *

**Chapter 7:  
Stepping Up**

Violet let her mind wonder as she concentrated on the task at hand, mainly the intense meditation session that she was currently doing. Violet wasn't entirely sure what time it was in Japan at the moment, something which she found extremely ironic since her specialty relied on time itself. But even so, she liked to feel normal every now and then, something which she had not share with anyone, not even the Watcher. After all, she was sure that the thought of her wanting to be normal would not sit well with him. Well, it wasn't like she wanted to be total normal for that matter. On the contrary, she was happy, an emotion which she had been feeling ever since the Watcher first approached her over three years ago.

Thinking back on how her life had been before she had acquired this power made Violet loose her concentration. Opening her eyes, Violet saw the empty dojo-like room in which she currently resided in. The room stood within The Watch's tower on the upper levels which were restricted to everyone save for The Watcher himself of course, herself, and some of the Watcher's 'most trusted' personnel. Said personnel were mindless individuals who couldn't tell anyone on the outside of the corporation's top secrets assignments even if they were captured or tortured. Of course, Violet suspected that would Naruto somehow find a way around the mindless individuals' defenses with that rinnegan of his as well as that Kushina woman with her seals. The Watcher would no doubt place something to serve as a countermeasure though. Not that Violet cared either way.

Sighing silently as she got up from her sitting position on the mat, the purple haired girl let her gaze travel towards the form of the only other person in the room which was none other than a motionless Fu. Well, in all honesty, Violet didn't consider the girl a person or a human. Not anymore. That line had been crossed the moment the Watcher brought her, along with the other jinchuriki, back for his plans. Well, also in part because of her, but that was beside the point.

Violet couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face as she walked towards Fu, stopping moments later in front of her. Starring at the green haired girl's empty eyes, Violet marveled at what the Watcher had accomplished. The being had a power that no doubt surpassed hers, even when combined with the bijuu chakra that she possessed. Violet also knew that it wasn't compare to where he got it from, but still. Waving one of her hands in front of the other girl's face, Violet saw no reaction from the girl. Well, it wasn't like she had been expecting one either. This was just her more sadistic side showing up.

But in her opinion, the girl in front of her deserved no less. Violet had seen how close Naruto had been with this girl, no tool. Yes, that was a much better title. At any rate, she had seen how close the two had been, and she didn't like it. Of course, the thought of as to what exactly gave her the right over Naruto never did cross her mind. Or maybe it was like she never bothered to actually justify it. In her mind, Naruto was _hers_ and no one else's. And she had the power to back that up. Even if said individual was against the idea at the moment, she would make sure that his thoughts on this matter would change.

Turning away from the still motionless Fu, Violet walked back to her spot on the middle of the mat in the room, sitting down with another sigh, this one audible. She was frustrated, mainly due to the fact that the Watcher had seen to it to make sure that she wouldn't accompany him to America. She knew why of course, the main reason being that she had completely disregarded his orders for several times now. Well, it wasn't like she was budging on the subject either. Violet knew for a fact that the Watcher needed her for what was to come. And she wasn't just talking about the war here on earth. The other reason being to keep an eye on the Kurosaki girls that they had abducted, more like the Watcher having done that. But Violet already knew that that was just simply a pretense for the fact that he just didn't want her in America at the moment.

Breathing deeply, Violet felt her muscles relax for a change. She felt completely relax. It really had been a while since she had last meditated which, in all honesty, was no good. Her power depended on control and exact precision of that control, something which Naruto had figured out from just meeting her once. It was basically another form of what had once been known as senjutsu in a sense. In other words, it was all about keeping a calm head, even though she didn't have to stand still to collect the natural energy in the air. It was something that she was extremely grateful for. It would have been a terrible disadvantage in battle if that had been the case.

Her thoughts ceased as she went deeper into her meditation, knowing full well that she was completely secured within this part of the building. Well, for the moment at least. She began to feel the energy around her and of everyone else's within the buildings. She then extended her reach to the city, coming into contact with the energy of the person that she was after. It wasn't really hard to locate Naruto's chakra. Besides Fu and the other Uzumakis, he was the only one that had big enough reserves.

Grinning to herself, Violet then extended her reach to just simply the general area, trying to clear her mind even more than before. Without knowing it, the girl gathered a bit more of natural energy than she intended. It wasn't long before Violet lost herself in the energy, loosing consciousness and leaving towards the blocked part of her mind.

* * *

**Flashback: Start!**

_"Hey, Violet! Violet! Viiiiiiooooolllleeeeettttt!"_

_Said girl opened her eyes to see a short brown haired girl waving her hand in front of her face._

_The younger looking Violet sighed as she leaned back on her chair. "What is it Amy?"_

_The now named Amy shook her head as she pointed at a tray of food in front of Violet that looked to be untouched. "You do know that lunch is almost over, right?"_

_"And?"_

_Amy pointed at the tray again. "And you haven't touched your food at all! Are you all right?"_

_Violet rolled her eyes slightly. "What makes you think that I'm not?"_

_Amy placed one of her hands under her chin, her facing taking a look of that of mock thinking. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's just because you've been spacing out in every class today. Or that you didn't even try to acknowledge all those guys that asked you out just a few minutes ago. Or that you were apparently asleep this whole time for whatever reason." Amy leaned forward as she lowered the volume of her voice. "You're not doing drugs, are you?"_

_Violet looked offended. "Do you really think that I would do that? Please. That's one of the easiest ways to kill yourself, you know. Well, not _easiest_, but you know what I mean."_

_Amy huffed as she crossed her arms in front of her, her brown eyes narrowing. "Then what's gotten into you?"_

_Violet looked to the side, not sure as to how to answer that. "Look, it's not that big of a deal. I'm just a bit tired is all. It happens to everyone. I just need some time to myself is all."_

_Amy didn't look convinced but decided to drop the matter. After all, she trusted Violet._

_As for Violet, she mentally sighed in relief. Truth of the matter was that she was indeed tired. But a lot more than she let on. It had been over a week since she had started to get headaches at night which brought her extreme pain which was exactly what kept her up. Of course, she hadn't told her parents either. She didn't want to worry them or her best friend._

_It had been her first mistake._

* * *

_Violet walked down the snowy street in silence as more snow continued to fall. But of course, this wasn't uncommon to the people that lived here in the city of Akureyri, Iceland. It was, after all, November already. The holidays were almost there, and Violet wasn't sure if she could handle the wait. The headaches just kept getting worst and worst. But without the need to go to school, she could just lie in bed all day if she wanted which she did. Extremely so. Of course, the fifteen year old girl knew that her friends would no doubt want to hang out with her, but she could make some excuses when the time came, if it ever did. As for her parents…well, she still wasn't entirely sure what she would do about that._

_If only she could speed up time…..or better yet, if only she could make the damn headaches go away. Of course, if she could have both, she wouldn't complain. But she knew that that was just simply impossible. The time part at least._

_Hugging her blue jacket more tightly, Violet shivered slightly as a cold breeze blew through the area. It was colder than usual for this time of year, that was for sure. Why her mother had to choose this place to live in, Violet wasn't sure. Okay, scratch that. She knew why. This was Violet's father's homeland. The purple haired girl already knew the whole story about her parents getting together due to her mother constantly having told her over the years. Her mother was Japanese while her father was Icelandic. A weird combination, that was for sure. The girl wasn't entirely sure as to how her mother fell for her father, just that they had met during their university years through some exchange program in Tokyo. Life was weird that way, all right._

_Another breeze made its presence known, making Violet shiver a second time. Well, at least it was the weekend. She could at least try to relax for the next couple of days, and hopefully the headaches would disappear as well. But she knew that asking for that was just simply asking too much._

_Putting those thoughts to the side, she continued on her way through the snowing streets._

_It was almost nightfall by the time that Violet reached her house. This was due mainly to the fact that her house stood on the countryside and away from the main part of the city which was where her school was. And since buses didn't come out this far out of the city, the young girl had no choice but to walk. Not that she minded it at all that much. And it wasn't like it was dangerous either. The city wasn't big, nor was it a major one of the country which would explain its size or lack of. Not much crime happened in this small part of the world. But it wasn't like anyone was complaining either._

_In other words, her parents knew that she would be safe even if she did walk alone at this time of the night. And Violet enjoyed it as well. It gave her some alone time to just reflect on random and pointless things. If any one of her friends knew of this, especially Amy, the would be shocked. Not that Violet could blame them. It wasn't like she shared everything with them, her recent headaches being one such example. She was like this perfect model of a student and girl to them. But she liked her privacy. And the last time she checked, keeping secrets wasn't a crime. Well, normal secrets at least._

_Seeing her house come to view, Violet let out a sigh as she wrapped her arms around herself as a shield against the cold wind. She would have to make sure to remember to wear a warmer jacket and a pair of gloves tomorrow._

_Walking towards the front door, Violet was about to take out the spare key that her parents had given her but before doing so, the purple haired girl noticed a particular fact: the door was opened. Not completely opened, but not closed either. Now that was odd. Violet knew that her parent never left the door open save for some summer afternoons that were spent in the backyard. And even then, it was the backdoor, not the front one._

_It was then that Violet heard unfamiliar voices coming from inside her house._

_"You idiot! Did you have to kill him!? Now we're going to have to clean this place up!"_

_"It's not my fault! The guy resisted. What would you have wanted for me to do!? Besides, he was useless. The woman is the one that we need to bring in."_

_"Whatever. Just so you know, you're the one cleaning. And dumping the body too."_

_Violet was soon on high alert at hearing this. She wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about at first, but she could soon put the pieces together. Especially after hearing the whimpering sounds from who she immediately identified as her mother._

_Not thinking for a moment, Violet sprung to action, running into the house that she had once called home and finding the scene which she had already known was happening but hadn't wanted to recognize it as reality._

_There, on the middle of the floor in the living room, laid her father in a pool of his own blood on his back, obviously dead. And her mother, tied up on the ground next to her husband's now lifeless body, tears streaming down her cheeks._

_"Well, well, what do we have here?"_

_Violet came out of her shock at hearing one of the voices from before coming from behind her. Turning around, Violet came face to face with a man wearing ordinary winter clothing and a mask that covered the lower part of his face. Violet soon found herself on the ground, the man having had just backhanded her._

_Violet's mother came out of shock at witnessing this, a look of extreme fear now appearing on her face. She was basically an older version of Violet in terms of physical appearance._

_"Violet!"_

_Another man appeared from down the hall within the bedrooms, having had heard the commotion. "What the hell is going on in here?"_

_The first man pointed at Violet's downed form. "Seems we've got ourselves another price tonight, Hannes."_

_The now named Hannes glanced at Violet who in turned looked back at him with apparent fear, a wicked grin showing in his dark brown eyes. "Well, it seems so. We now got ourselves a mother and daughter combo! I'm sure the boss we'll reward us for this. Maybe even let us test them out. Don't you agree, Gunn?"_

_The now named Gunn simply nodded, enthusiastic about the idea. It also seemed that they didn't care if either Violet or her mother knew of their names. Well, why should they? They were about to be sold as sex slaves to the highest bidder, whoever it may be._

_Violet's mother was quick to get to her feet, only to stumble as she made to get in front of Violet. Which she did, but falling on the ground face first that was. Still, the pain didn't seem to affect her as she looked at both men with a pleading look._

_"Don't touch her! Do whatever it is that you want to do to me, but just leave her alone!"_

_Hannes smirked as he knelt in front of her. "Oh, don't worry. We'll take you up on that offer real soon. But unfortunately, a lot of buyers are preferring their products younger. That way, it's more likely that they're virgins. They sell for a lot more too, ya know? Gotta keep business going."_

_Violet's mother gritted her teeth, her fear now replaced with anger. "You bastards!"_

_Putting aside any other thoughts, the woman lunged at Hannes even though her hands were tied together and succeeded in tackling him to the ground._

_Hannes growled from underneath her, obviously not having had expected this. After all, the woman had been a cowering mess a few minutes before. "You bitch!"_

_The woman simply responded by kneeing him in the groins, causing for Hannes to howl out in pain._

_Gunn, not thinking rationally either, was quick to bring out the pistol that he had in his hands, quickly shooting her in the next moment in her back._

_Hannes's pain disappeared at seeing this, shock evident in his face before it turned into anger as the woman's body fell to the ground. "You imbecile!"_

_Gunn took a step back at seeing the look of rage on his partner's face. "What!"_

_Hannes growled out. "Why the hell did you shoot her!?"_

_"Because she was attacking you!"_

_Hannes looked like he was about to strangle him. "And? Couldn't you have stopped her in a different manner!? Preferably one in which she was still alive!? Or better yet, you could have waited for me to had handle the situation!"_

_Gunn simply looked at him, unable to say anything._

_Hannes sighed. "Now I know why you do this crap. You're a freaking moron." Well, he should have known that from the first moment that he met the guy, but still. This was their first assignment together._

_While the duo bickered, Violet was simply looking at her mother's dead body, being unable to comprehend that she was now dead along with her father. Shock then turned into anger. Anger which fueled something within her. It was then that everything went blank for her._

* * *

_Opening her eyes, Violet stood up as she looked around, not understanding why she had been sleeping in the living room nor why her mother hadn't woken her up or taken her to her room. But on a brighter note, her head felt better. A lot better than it had felt ever since the damn headaches had started to occur._

_'Isn't that a relief?' the girl thought to herself before she felt her cheek slightly sting. Placing a hand on it, she cringed slightly. Since when did her cheek hurt?_

_Finally taking the time to take in her surroundings in more detail, Violet froze as her mind remembered everything that had occurred. Her parents dead. Her being sold to become a sex slave to whoever it was that would buy her. The two men._

_But it was different. The two corpses of her parents were still there. But the two men…..whatever their names were, they were simply standing still in front of her, looking as if they were bickering just as she had last seen them. But they didn't seem to be moving at all anymore. What the hell?_

_"Well, it seems that you've finally unlocked your gift, my dear girl."_

_Violet's eyes snapped to the side to a see an unfamiliar man leaning against one of the walls in the living room, looking as calms as ever as if there weren't two dead bodies in front of him or two unmoving bodies of living people. Well, Violet thought that they were still alive at least._

_"Who are you?"_

_The man was quick to respond as he made his way towards her. "I have no name. Nor do I really want one. But you may call me the Watcher."_

_Violet frowned. What kind of name was that? And what did he mean that he didn't want a name? A name was basically a person's identity._

_"I see that you have many questions, my young girl," the Watcher commented as he stopped in front of her, his calm look still present._

_Violet simply stood there, her eyes never leaving his form. Well, that should have been obvious. But the words never came out. The purple haired girl was still in shock, not that anyone could blame her. Not only that, but she was starting to believe that all of this had to be some sort of crazy and bizarre dream. It was the only explanation that made sense….right?_

_The Watching, having obviously sensed this turned his gaze to the still two frozen men. "I'm sure that you must be thinking that this is all some sort of dream, but I assure you, it is not. As sad as it is, this is reality."_

_Violent didn't say a thing._

_Seeing this, the Watcher continued. "But of course, you're probably not going to believe me. Well, not just yet that is. I am, after all, a total stranger to you at the moment." His gaze then turned towards hers. "But everything that I'm about to tell you is true."_

_Violet glared at him with as much intensity as she could, which wasn't much. Even more tears threatened to roll down her cheeks any moment. "And why should I even listen to whatever it is that you have to say? Or even care for that matter? I don't know if you haven't realized this, but MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!"_

_"All because of the foolishness of mankind," the Watcher commented in his calm tone, obviously not having been affected by Violet's outburst._

_Violet shook her head violently as the tears finally made their appearance. "I don't care! I don't care! I don't care who the hell you are, or whatever else it is that you're saying! I only want my parents back!"_

_The Watcher merely sighed. "Not going to make this easy are you? Well, it's understandable I suppose. Your parents were just taken away from you. However….." The Watcher took another step forward, "you _will_ listen to what I have to say. Like it or not, it is your duty."_

_Violet glared at him once again. "Are you deaf or what!? I just told you that I don't-"_

_"Aren't you curious," the Watcher said, cutting her off, "as to why you have been having those headaches of yours recently? Or why your head no longer hurts like before?"_

_Violet immediately paused at hearing this, more shock now present in her. "How do you know about that? I haven't told anyone…"_

_The Watcher hid the smile that appeared on his face. Good. The girl was starting to listen. "You'll come to realize of that answer by yourself in due time. But for right now, I'm here to tell you what the cause is and how to control it."_

_Violet narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"_

_The Watcher pointed at both Hannes and Gunn. "See for yourself, Violet. This is your doing."_

_Violet's eyes widened in understanding. "You mean that I froze them!?"_

_The Watcher immediately answered, "I don't know if 'frozen' would be the right word, but essentially, yes. They are in this state because of your doing, Violet. Because of the power that you have coursing through your veins."_

_"B-but that's impossible!"_

_The Watcher raised an eyebrow. "Is it? In due time, you'll come to realize that many things that you define as 'impossible' are actually possible. Humanity has degraded to the point that saying that something is impossible is a better alternative than admitting their own lack of strength."_

_"I'm not interested in a moral lesson here," Violet growled out as she stood up. "Now tell me what's happened to me!"_

_The Watcher grinned slightly. "It's all about the mind. The human mind is so complex and frail at the same time. Your mind just couldn't bear to handle all that stored energy that was being placed within it."_

_Violet in turned looked confused. "What energy?"_

_"Natural energy. It's what makes your power possible," was the Watcher's response. "But of course, you can't control it yet. So unknowingly, you began to gather the natural energy from around you, storing it. After a sufficient amount of time, your mind began to reject all of that energy as it began to put a strain on you. After all, that type of energy is meant to be used, not stored. But the mind being as frail as it is, it wasn't long before it reached its maximum capacity. And just a few moments prior, you released all of that stored energy, releasing your mind from that constant strain."_

_Violet could only take all of this in, frozen in place._

_The Watcher looked at both Hannes and Gunn again. "Remarkable, isn't it? This is your power, Violet. The ability to control time itself. A remarkable power, is it not? With this power, you stand above all the rest of humankind. A new goddess, you can even say. A goddess who will lead this race back to its proper course."_

_Violet came out of her shock, shaking her head as she took a couple of steps back. "And who says that I want to do that?"_

_The Watcher returned his calculating gaze back on her, his calm eyes locking with her shocked ones. "Because of what they did to you and your parents. This world is filled with hatred because of humans. But of course, if humans can be cleansed of this, then so will the world. And I believe that that is an achievable goal. But I'm going to need your help with this, Violet."_

_The Watcher extended his hand towards her, indicating what he wanted for her to do._

_Violet glanced at the stretched out hand before looking back at him. "You actually want me to save the people that just basically robbed me out of my life!? Are you insane or what!?"_

_A wild look appeared on the girl's face. "More than anything, it just makes me want to use this power to kill them, not save them!"_

_"And who says you can't?"_

_Violet came to a halt at hearing the Watcher's response._

_Seeing this, the being continued, "I already told you, I want to cleanse this world. And to do that, I need to cleanse humanity, meaning that some people will just need to be taken out because they just simply don't belong."_

_Grabbing hold of the gun that Gunn had in his hand, the Watcher walked until he was in front of Violet, placing the gun in her hands._

_"And you can start your cleansing right here with these two. The two men that took your family from you. It's the most fitting people to start with, don't you agree?"_

_Violet simply looked at the gun in her hands, the feeling of it being foreign to her as this was the first time that she had ever held a gun. Looking at the frozen Hannes and Gunn, Violet hesitated, unsure of herself. Her mother had always told her that killing people was wrong, no matter what the reason behind it was. And that she should never do it. But thinking of her mother made Violet recall how Gunn had shot her from the back without a second thought, how they had no doubt killed her father in the same merciless way, and how they had been planning to sell both her and her mother into a life of slavery._

_Without a second thought, Violet raised the gun, pointing it at Gunn first as she shot him without hesitation and doing the same with Hannes a moment later. Time seemed to return to the area as Violet dropped to the ground on her knees, not quite sure what she had just done._

_And the Watcher simply watched in gratification._

**Flashback: End!**

* * *

Violet opened her eyes slowly, trying to get her mind together once again. Really, she hated remembering that night. But it was the same night that changed her forever. Going from a simple high school girl to something more. Something bigger. Something much more important. And she was forever thankful for that.

It was also the same night in which she damned the entire human race.

* * *

_"Where am I?"_

_"Don't tell me you've forgotten already, sweetie. You belong right here next to me."_

_A finger began to make its way down his stomach._

_"Why…..? Why am I here? Where's everyone else!?"_

_Giggles._

_"I already told you. You belong next to me. In other words, you're mine. The others are irrelevant. Besides, you already had to go through the pain of almost losing everyone you loved. Do you really want to repeat that? Do you want for your precious Kushina to die just like Fu did?"_

_"Fu….you brought her back as a simple mindless drone!"_

_"So you figured that out, did you? Well, I shouldn't be surprised." A hand appeared on his cheek, stroking his whiskers. "But you're mistaken, Naruto. I wasn't the one to bring them back. Well, not entirely. It was him. I care not to hurt you, be it mentally or physically. He's the opposite. But in the end, it's what I want. And I want you."_

_"And do you think that I will let you have me?"_

_Another fit of amused giggles were heard as the hand finally reached its destination. "Oh, but you don't get a choice in this, darling. Besides, very soon you'll realize that it isn't as bad as you make yourself believe it to be." The next moment, there was a body on top of his with a pair of gold-ish brown eyes staring deep into his soul._

_"Haven't you ever heard that nothing lasts forever? Well, you and that Uzumaki woman are no different. You might have lasted longer than others, but in the end, it will still fail. But not with me. With me, nothing ends. And do you know why?"_

_A wicked smirk appeared in the darkness._

_"For I am the mistress of time."_

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto opened his eyes in an instant, taking huge gulps of air at the same time.

**"A nightmare, was it?"**

Naruto looked to the side on the far side of the dojo-like room within his beach house to see the Seikatsugakari lying besides the wall.

'So you know already, huh?'

**"I told you: we are connected. Everything you know, I know. But of course, in this regard, I am as clueless as you are."**

Naruto sighed as he leaned back on his hands. Instead of the businessman type outfit that he usually wore, all he had on at the moment were a pair of black cargo pants. After the whole fiasco of Ichigo revealing what he had once been, Naruto had decided that it was time to get back into shape. But at the moment, all he wanted was to clear his head. That was why he had come here. But instead, he received a vision or a dream or whatever that was of him and Violet in the sack, nude as the day they were born. While many other men would consider that a good thing, he most certainly did not for obvious reasons.

'Just….what was that?'

The Seikatsugakari was silent for a few moments before it finally spoke, **"I'm not certain as to how accurate this may be, but is it possible that you have actually seen your future? Just like Madara once did? The rinnegan does possess that ability, after all."**

Naruto actually scoffed at the suggestion. 'That's the last thing I would believe. Me? Doing her? No matter what, no matter the circumstances, that would never happen.'

**"Don't be so certain, Uzumaki. You're the one that told me not to think that way, and yet, here you are, doing the exact same thing."**

That shut the Uzumaki up instantly.

**"You never know what the future holds. If the opposite were true, then the world would be a better place, and there would be no such thing as a mistake. But that's not the case. You said it yourself. You're going in this blindly. It's expected for you to make a mistake. Hell, you already have! And it's almost guaranteed that there will be more. And one of those mistakes could be the cause of what you just saw."**

Naruto was silent, contemplating this. As much as he hated to admit it, the sword did have a point.

'Fate, huh? Never did believe in it…..'

The sentient sword didn't respond to this. Not that it needed to. Instead, it moved on, **"Putting that issue aside, it's time for you to step up for what's to come. Mainly, you getting back into shape. If you don't, it's guaranteed that you will lose…..whatever this is."**

Naruto stood up, stretching a bit. 'You don't need to tell me that twice. I already have a plan-'

He stopped short as he immediately sensed a familiar presence arriving into the room. Turning around, he saw Zetsu walking through the door that led into the dojo with an unfamiliar man walking behind him.

Naruto merely raised an eyebrow at seeing this.

Seeing this, White Zetsu was quick to answer. "Before you ask, yes, we do have a reason for bringing this guy here. Umm….." turning towards the black robe wearing man, White Zetsu asked, "what was your name again?"

The man's eyebrows twitched slightly at this, an act which was mirrored by Black Zetsu. Really, the fact that he was created from one of the White Zetsus in the past greatly annoyed Black Zetsu.

**"He's the father of the Kurosaki boy,"** stated Black Zetsu, deciding to get a move on with the conversation. If it was left to his counterpart, who knew how long they would be standing here? **"He was at the place where you fought against the Violet girl. We decided to bring him here to see what he could provide to us."**

Naruto immediately caught what Black Zetsu was saying, mainly that this man wasn't ordinary. Naruto mentally smirked at this. 'Well, it must run in the family then…..'

The man took a step forward. "I'm Kurosaki Isshin. I understand that you have my children under your care."

Naruto shook his head. "No, I don't. I only have your son. As for your daughters, they were…..taken."

Now, for those that knew Isshin, they knew that he was usually easy going in most cases. But if the security of his children was at stake, he was replaced by the shinigami captain that he had once been.

He took another step forward. "Who was it?"

**"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"**

Naruto had to agree with the sentient sword. Father and son were certainly alike all right.

"It's out of reach for the moment," reasoned Naruto. "But before we get into that, there are many other issues that need to be taken care of before."

"Like my son," guessed Isshin, calming a bit. He knew that trying to force the answers out of the individual in front of him wouldn't get him anywhere. Not only that, but he knew nothing of what they could do. Just like with Black Zetsu, he could tell that these were not ordinary people, just by their appearances alone. Not only that, but they could see him. "Where is he, by the way?"

It was White Zetsu who answered. "I've already told him to come here. He should be here any moment."

As if on cue, one orange haired teen was seen at the doorway, casually looking into the room until he spotted the form of his father.

Isshin was quick to be on the receiving end of a finger by his own son. "Old man! Why are you here!? Wait, scratch that. Where the hell have you been!?"

Isshin put his hands in front of him as if to placate him. "Now, now, I'm the one that should be accusing." It was at the next moment that Ichigo found himself on the floor on his back, his father above him while pointing a finger at him now. "Why the hell didn't you protect your sisters better, you dumbass!"

"These guys are freaking monsters! Literally!" the teenage boy snapped back.

Isshin was quick to get in front of his face. "Have you forgotten everything that I have taught you!? You moron of a son!"

Naruto merely watched all of this in obvious amusement as both father and son screamed insults at each other with White Zetsu sharing in his amusement. As for Black Zetsu…he simply stood there with a blank look. But that should have been obvious at this point.

As the argument continued for a couple of minutes, Naruto decided to intervene. "As amusing as this is, there's still things that I have to ask of you, Kurosaki." It was obvious to Naruto that the man in front of him was a shinigami. Now he knew as to where Ichigo got his talent from.

Isshin turned his attention towards him. "Ah…." Scratching the back of his head, he laughed sheepishly. "Right. Sorry about that."

Ichigo snorted from his position on the floor. "Yeah right…."

Before another argument could run its course, Naruto continued, "First, I'm going to tell you, just like I told your son, that I have nothing to do with what happen with your daughters."

That quickly changed the atmosphere from goofy to serious which worked as well for Naruto. For the moment at least.

"Don't worry," Isshin said, his face opting a serious look to it, "I can already tell that you're not a bad guy." That comment made Naruto mentally snort but didn't comment, instead letting the older Kurosaki continue. "For one being that you have yet to attack me, nor do I sense any intention of you trying to do so either. And the other being that my stupid son is still alive and well. Of course, I don't like to over think things, so maybe this is all a trap in which case…..well…." the man simply shrugged, letting the sentence hang loose.

Naruto simply nodded. "Well then, that takes care of any future misunderstandings. Moving on, like I said before, retrieving your daughters is currently out of reach, mainly because we just don't know where they're being held."

At this, Ichigo gritted his teeth quietly. He hated feeling useless, especially when it came to his sisters.

Isshin noticed this but decided not to say anything about it. "Who was it?"

Naruto didn't need a clarification as to what exactly Isshin was asking. "A corporation, very much like my own. I don't know if you have heard of it, but its name is 'The Watch.'"

Isshin narrowed his eyes.

"So you have heard of them….." Naruto muttered, coming to that conclusion by Isshin's reaction.

Isshin sighed. "Yes, I have. I didn't think that they would do something like this considering what they're doing back-" Isshin stopped himself right there, but it was too late.

Naruto took a step forward, his own eyes narrowing. "Back where?"

Isshin was silent for a few moments before relenting. He didn't know why, but he could tell that this was very important to the young man. Not only that, but he did save his son's life. He owed him one. "It's quite obvious that you're aware of the existence of shinigamis, no doubt my son told you," he said, glancing at the quite Ichigo for a few moments before looking at Naruto who simply nodded.

Isshin continued, "Well, I'm sure that he told you that we come from a realm known as Soul Society, correct?" Another nod. "Well, that's just simply where the 'good' souls end up in the afterlife. There is, of course, hell which is where the 'bad' ones end up. And of course, there's-"

"I don't need a lesson as to how your world works," interrupted Naruto. "I really don't care much for it. I just want to know what The Watch has to do within the realms controlled by the Shinigami."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. The silver haired man was impatient all right. But then again, so was he at times. "This is where things get complicated really. The Watch is simply a human organization. So for it to know of our existence or even try to destroy it is surprising. Extremely so."

Naruto's eyes snapped open at hearing this. "Destroy? You're telling me that that is what they're doing? Trying to destroy the realm of the Shinigami?"

Isshin nodded. "Yes. In recent weeks, there have been too many incidents occurring all over the world which have been cause by nonhumans. Even if you don't like it, I'm going to have to explain something to you. There is a barrier that exists within our realms that separate them all, mainly keeping hell from Soul Society. But recently, the barrier has been weakening. And this has been caused by the release of too many souls from hell which turn into Hollows as they reach the human world or even Soul Society. Ah, Hollows are-"

"I know what they are," interrupted Naruto. "Ichigo already told me." Pausing for a moment, Naruto continued, "So basically what you're saying is that if this keeps occurring, the barrier will be destroyed soon, making all the souls that have been sent to hell escape into the human world or even into Soul Society."

Isshin nodded. "Yes. In the worst case scenario, we would have a civil war between the two main realms of the death gods."

Everything was coming together. Or at least a big chunk of it. But really, why did the old bastard want to start a civil war for?

**"Interesting question indeed. But something tells me that this is only half of the equation. A civil war in the Shinigami's world would have major consequences, true. But not enough to cause too many effects here, if handled properly at least. But that also brings another question to the table…..why is he also trying to get a war to start here in the human world?"**

Okay, so maybe everything still wasn't coming together.

Ichigo simply looked at his father. There was no doubt in the teen's mind that he had been in contact with Urahara recently which would also explain his father's long periods of absence these past few weeks. Now Ichigo knew why.

"What are the shinigamis doing to prevent all of this?" asked Naruto.

"Trying to figure out as to _how_ humans have access to this type of information and the means of how they're even carrying this out."

Naruto had an idea for the former but not the latter.

Isshin was silent, having have told Naruto everything that he knew of. Now, it was the matter of his daughters that concerned him for the moment.

Naruto extended his hand to the older Kurosaki male, a small grin on his face. "It looks like we're both in the same boat here. We don't know a thing. But we can turn that around. In turn for helping you find and rescue your daughters, you in return give me information about the situation in Soul Society and provide assistance when necessary. Of course, if I do come into any relevant information, I'll pass it on to you as well. So what do you say? Do we have a truce?"

Isshin was silent for a few moments before grinning. As stated before, he wasn't one for much thinking. Besides, he could feel a good vibe from the man in front of him. And his instincts have been the ones to have gotten him through many difficulties in his life.

Naruto's grin became wider as Isshin took hold of his extended hand with his own.

"And there's one final thing….."

Isshin simply raised an eyebrow.

"Would you mind training me?"

Isshin grinned in return.

* * *

Ken hated acting formal. It just wasn't him. But unfortunately due to the profession he chose, being formal was a criteria that he often had to meet. But then again, he could kill people legally, so…..he could call it a fair trade.

But the person that he wanted to kill the most in the world was sitting comfortably to his left, but he couldn't do anything about it because of his job. Really, it was at times like these that Ken wondered if he would be better off working as a mercenary. Then again, all he wanted to do was spent the rest of his days on an island of his own with-

'Better stop right there,' he reminded himself. Half of that dream was dead already, after all.

The Watcher was sitting calmly in one of the chairs present in front of the President's desk, both Yugito and Utakata standing behind him on both sides with the President sitting on his own presidential chair. Finally, Ken was to the President's left, watching all of the proceedings with a careful eye.

"It is most thankful that your flight went well," began the President.

"As do I," agreed the Watcher before glancing at Ken for a moment. "Before we continue, I must ask if it's wise if one of your agents is here?"

The President didn't hesitate. "There are no concerns, Mr. Chairman. Ken is my most trusted agent. It's why I even asked him to be the one to pick you up and meet with me here." Ken didn't show any recognition at the praise. "But if we're going by distrust because of our subordinates, then you are no less guilty," the President added, looking at both Yugito and Utakata who both showed no reaction.

"I suppose so," the Watcher responded, letting the issue drop.

The President nodded. "With that out of the way, we must now discuss as to the whole reason why I even asked you to meet me today, Mr. Chairman. But of course, you must already know as to what I'm talking about."

The Watcher didn't let any emotion show on his face. Instead, he said, "Indeed. The whole world now thinks of the United States as a bunch of traitors. An accusation, if I may say so, that seems to be properly made."

The President sighed. "The evidence does point to us as the guilty party, but I assure you, we had no involvement whatsoever in whatever it is that took place that night in the royal palace. We're not even sure as to why two CIA agents were even there!"

The Watcher didn't respond.

Seeing this, the President continued, "I must also inform you that the CIA is no more. Due to many recent…..developments, we thought it would be prudent if it was no longer active."

But the Watcher already knew of this, not that he would let the man in front of him know. Hell, he even knew what the so called 'developments' were. He knew as to the power that that Mitarashi women had held in the American government. But of course, it was just luck that had landed him with her that night.

"That is surprising," the Watcher finally said. "But I must wonder as to what your goal is in telling me something as big as that. I am, after all, Japanese." Another lie, not that the man in front of him needed to know that either.

The President nodded. "It's just simply a sign of my trust in you. A trust, which I hope, will be extended both ways."

'Highly unlikely,' thought the Watcher.

Ken merely watched on.

The President then sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you. The whole reason that I'm even talking to you about something like this or even asking for your assistance is because of your good relations with the other nations that you possess as well as the influence that The Watch can provide us with."

The Watcher had to mentally sigh. Really, the whole reason that he was even here was because the major nations knew of his identity as the Chairman of The Watch. Of course, it wasn't public knowledge as all the nations had made sure that no one unnecessary knew of it, but still. Maybe he should have done the same thing that Naruto had done which was basically not let anyone know of his existence, period. But then again, that brought on many other problems, one being that what he was planning on doing would have been extremely more difficult. After all, there was a reason why it was The Watch that the United States was asking for help, not Uzumaki Inc. It all went down to trust. After all, who could trust a person when you have never met him or her once in person?

"I thank you for your honesty," the Watcher began, "but I hope that you realize, Mr. President, what could happen to my reputation and that of my company if you indeed turn out to be the ones behind this, and I sided with you. It would make me look as if I were a part of this as well!"

"I understand that," the President acknowledged, "but you need not worry. We are _not_ guilty, no matter what the rest of the world may say. Which is why I would like for your support at the meeting in Geneva in one week."

'Perfect…..'

Really, everything was just playing itself into his hands. But of course, instead of showing his approval of the current situation, the Watcher acted as if he was contemplating his decision, already knowing what he was going to do.

Ken had his eyes on the Watcher, knowing full well that this was somehow what the bastard wanted, if the profiles that the Uzumakis had sent him were correct. But what was he planning on doing at the international meeting? Ken could think of some things, and none were pretty. But like he had said before, the President and the nation were desperate. If someone like the Chairman from The Watch believed that the United States was innocent, that might push other nations to think the same. At least, that was what the President was hoping for to happen. A huge gamble all right.

After a few more moments of tensed silence, the Watcher finally answered, "All right. I will provide you with my assistance in this, Mr. President."

The President was quick to stand up, quickly bowing to the Watcher. "Thank you! You will not regret this!"

The Watcher mentally smirked. 'No, I don't think I will.'

Standing up, the Watcher shook hands with the President. "I believe that that is all?"

The President nodded, glad that things had gone well. "Yes. And I'll even provide you with extra security as a show of my gratitude. Ken!"

Ken took a step forward, the Watcher immediately having his gaze on him.

The President continued, "Like I have said, Ken is my most trusted agent and was one of the CIA's best. I'm sure that you won't have any complaints."

The Watcher wanted to say outright 'no,' since there was nothing in this world that could harm him. Well, normally at least. But he also knew that the President wouldn't budge on this.

"I see. I thank you."

The Watcher turned the other way, making his way towards the door with the meeting now having concluded. The President sent Ken a nod as said agent made to follow, returning the nod as well.

Well, it was definitely time to step up the stakes of this game all right.

* * *

Fuka sighed to herself as she felt the presence of someone behind her. "You know, I'm fine. I don't need a babysitter. I'm a grown up woman of thousand something years, you know."

Kushina chuckled as she stood next to the doorway that led to one of the balconies present in the beach house. Kushina wasn't aware of the time, but if she had to guess, she would say around three in the morning. But with how things had gone the previous day, no one was in the mood to sleep. Not only that, but Kushina could sense that Zetsu had brought someone with him. The redhead wasn't sure who or what it was, but since a fight hadn't broken out just yet, she could at least deduce that the individual was friendly. Or close to it at least.

"Oh, I don't know," she began with a bit of humor laced in her tone, "I'm sure that Mito-sama would have disagreed with you on that."

Fuka smiled at that. No matter how much time passed, she would always consider that woman her mother. To Fuka, the concept of a parent was more than the person having had given birth to you. It was that person actually taking care of you. And while not having had done a perfect job, Mito was the closest person to a mother that Fuka would ever have. It wasn't like she was blaming the woman either. With everything that had been happening at the time, the redhead was just glad that Mito hadn't had just left her there which she could have done, quite easily for that matter.

"You got me there….."

Kushina grinned before it banished a second later, stepping forward in order to stand next to her fellow Uzumaki. "You have a lot on your mind, don't you?"

Fuka turned her gaze to the night sky where the half moon shined the otherwise dark night. "Yeah. I'm just trying to understand what we're even fighting anymore. Or for what Anko even died for…."

Kushina nodded at hearing that. "Yes. Unlike Naruto, you still haven't quite found your reason for getting involved in any of this, have you?"

Fuka shook her head. "Oh no. I do have a reason. Revenge. But at the end of the day, I don't want that to be it. I mean, look what it do Naruto in the long run. Without it, he was left with nothing. Hell, so were we! We've basically become fossils now!"

Kushina didn't try to deny it. It was the truth, after all. "Yes, that's also quite true. But now Naruto understands this. I'm sure that he won't make that same mistake twice. But he's not the reason you're like this. We both know that. And I have something which will let you put what's holding you from moving forward. We are, after all, going to need you in this, Uzumaki Fuka."

Fuka turned towards Kushina in surprise. This was the first time that Kushina had ever called her an Uzumaki before. But surprise turned to confusion a moment later as Kushina handed her a half folded paper.

Kushina sent her a weak smile. "I just printed this out. It's a message from Anko to all of us. I thought that you would like to read it as well."

And she wasn't wrong. Not a waiting a minute longer, Fuka unfolded the paper, her eyes quickly absorbing the words that were present.

**If you're reading this, then it means that I'm already dead. Now, you may be wondering as to why I would ever think that I would someday die, but if there is one thing that my new job has taught me is to expect the unexpected. Of course, I won't try to guess how I died, neither am I going to mope about it. I have lived for a long time, and if I were to be honest, I'm quite sick of it.**

**Heh, I'm going to be honest. We've become pathetic. I don't even know what we are anymore. Shinobi? Human? Or just simply some sort of puppets with no souls or will? Because that is what I've been defining us as of late. Of course, as for the puppeteer, it's time itself. As surprising as it is, I have long since started to ask myself these things. That's why all of you may start to find a part of me that none of you will have known before.**

**But I am just tired of this life, of this curse. But despite all of this, I still care deeply for all of you. I was given a chance at a new life because of you, and I got to experience some good things, others bad. Whatever it is that you guys now have to face, I'm sure that you'll find a way to kick some ass again. And I'm sorry that I won't be with you through this. Hehehe. I can't believe that I'm the one scolding you guys of all people instead of it being the other way around! But time really does change people, for the better or for the worse. You guys decide.  
**

**So I leave you with this. I hope that you all find a new reason to live. And don't let my death be the one thing that holds any of you back. Because that would be the one thing that would piss me off the most. If we ever do somehow meet again, I hope to see you all just like you once were. I wish you the best of luck.**

**Your lovable friend,**

**The Sexy Mitarashi Anko**

Fuka was silent for a few moments, trying to comprehend what she had just read. Finally, she said, "So when we reunited for our mission to Riyadh, she was already….."

"I don't know to be honest," responded Kushina truthfully. "She was still the Anko we knew except that she was just beginning to question our entire existence. Just like we are now. She just did it first. And she came up with her own answer, it seems. Not that it wasn't fitting at the time, of course. But she had also hoped that we would all change. And we are," she finished with another weak smile.

Fuka bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears. But she knew that it was a fruitless fight. "All because of her death….why didn't she just come to us for help!?"

Kushina didn't respond. Just like Naruto, she had already realized the answer to that. And so did Fuka, no matter how much she tried to deny it.

Kushina placed a hand on Fuka's shoulder, bringing her into a tight hug. "All we can do now is to move forward for her sake. I'm sure that that's what she would have wanted. Let's go….as a family."

Fuka cried.

* * *

The Shinigami was usually a very calm individual. After all, he was a god. He had all eternity. Needless to say, it took a lot to irritate the hell out of him, something which had only happened twice before in his entire existence.

One being the whole mess that had occur with the Juubi for reasons of his own, even if he did get a sweet deal out of it. Mainly, many more souls added to this collection. The second one having been his brothers interfering with his work once before. But now, the current situation could be added to that list.

Really, why did this crap have to happen to him of all of the gods? He was good…..ish. Okay, so maybe he did deserve it for all the crap that he himself had caused many times before. But that didn't mean that he was just going to take all of this in stride.

That freaking aide thought that he would be able to overthrow him? The Shinigami? Ruler of countless of souls! Preposterous! Even so, it seemed that that simply aide had somehow acquired a small sample of Kami's power in order to give it to that girl. And the Juubi's power as well….the latter was the most shocking out of the two. How he had managed to pull that off under all of their noses was beyond the death god. And now, his domain was being threatened to be engulfed in a civil war. And the Shinigami knew what the consequences would be. The exact same thing which the damn aide wanted!

It seemed that it was time to bring out his own disciple into the fray since both Kami and the so called 'Watcher' had their own. And as lady luck would have it, he was already with Uzumaki. That just made things easier. It seemed that this group known as 'Xcution' would also prove of some use to him as well.

Any nearby servants nearly died again as they heard the chilling laughter emanating from the Shinigami's chambers in his own castle-like building in hell.

It was time for him to step up his own pieces on the board. The real game began now.

* * *

**Well, I'm finally here with another chapter. To be honest, I don't have much to say only that I hope that this doesn't disappoint. Also, I'm not entirely sure if the whole concept of there being a barrier that separates Soul Society from the true hell is true, but for all intents and purposes of this story, it will be. Feedbacks would be appreciated.**

**Till next time.**


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